What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
by The 1000th Kiss
Summary: The bohos meet in middle school and they seem to be having the time of their young lives . . . but what happens when they stumble across a murdered woman in Central Park? BACK WITH REGULAR UPDATES.
1. The Newbie

**I own nothing. The Almighty Larson owns it all. I'm just playin' around with his characters. :)**

11-year-old Mark Cohen walked down the packed hallway with his backpack securely on his back and his lunchbox clutched tightly to his chest. Just for safety. His mother had told him not to worry. That his first day at a new school would only be as scary as he made it himself. So far it was absolutely terrifying.

"Hey,check it out. It's the newbie," he heard behind him. The person who said it was right.

He was the newbie.

As he walked, he scanned every locker he could see until he reached his. He reached for the combination lock only to be pushed out of the way by a boy much taller than him. It turns out that the boy's locker was right next to his.

"Um . . . excuse me," Mark said in a timid voice. The boy continued to open his locker. Noticing the boy didn't hear him, Mark tried again."Excuse me." Still he received no answer as the boy began to put the contents of his own backpack into his locker. Mark then decided to use physical contact. He tapped the tall boy on the shoulder and, to his surprise, the boy turned around.

"Yeah?" the boy said. Now that Mark had a full view of the boy, he saw that he was black, much taller than he'd thought, and was wearing blue jeans, old sneakers,a yellow vest,three undershirts, and some sort of knitted beanie on his head. Mark stood in front of the boy and gaped at him. "What do you want kid?" Mark suddenly snapped back to reality.

"Um . . . that's my locker," Mark said, pointing to the locker that was rightfully his. The boy looked where Mark's hand was pointing.

"That's nice and all, but, here in middle school, we all have lockers," was the boy's reply.

"No. I mean, your locker's really close to mine."

"Look kid, I'd love to stand here and talk, but I got stuff to do." The boy turned back to his locker.

"Well . . . if you could just . . .just please . . ." Mark stopped himself after noticing the boy was ignoring him. He tapped him on the shoulder again, but received no response. He then took a deep breath. **"HEY!"** he yelled at the boy.

"What!?" the boy retorted.

**"MOVE!"** The boy came close to him.

"What'd you just say to me?"

"M-move."

"Gimmie one good reason why I should." The boy came closer and was now towering over Mark.

"I-it's just . . .you see . . . what I was trying to . . . don't hurt me! I don't have any money, but my lunchbox is good for something. Just please don't beat me up! It's my first day!"

"Oh. You're the new kid?" Mark nodded, afraid to utter a word. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you like that. I'm just not in the mood for any crap today. I heard 7th grade is no joke." Mark suddenly found his voice.

"You're in the 7th grade?" he asked.

"Yup. Name's Tom. What's yours?"

"Mark."

"Well, nice to meet you Mark."

"You too. Um . . . could you please let me get to my locker?"

"Oh! My bad."

"It's okay." As group of guys walked by, one of them ran into Mark and his lunchbox fell.

"Watch where you're goin' newbie," one of them said. Mark assumed he was the leader.

"Maybe you should watch where you're goin'. You ever thought of that?" Tom said. The leader came toward Tom, but Tom didn't back down.

"Are you challenging me?" the leader asked. Tom said nothing and simply held up a belt that was once holding the leader's pants in place. As the leader's pants fell a chorus of laughter was heard throughout the hallway.

"I assume you'll be going now," Tom said with a smirk on his face as the leader fled. He then picked up the lunchbox and handed it back to Mark. "I do believe this is yours."

"Thanks Tom," Mark said. "Who were those guys?"

"8th graders. Don't worry about them. They won't mess with ya as long as I'm around."

"Good." Mark started to open his locker before Tom stopped him.

"I just remembered. New students can't do anything until they see the principal. Typical first day rule," he said.

"Oh. So where's . . .?"

"I'll take you there."

"But what if the . . ." Mark lowered his voice to a whisper, "8th graders come back?" Tom chuckled.

"Don't be scared. You've got a 7th grader on your side." Hearing this made Mark smile. Things were looking up. It was his first day, he was already making friends, and this particular friend could kick the snot out of anyone who threatened him.

What could possibly go wrong?

**Reviews are nice. They are the peanut butter to my jelly. The salt to my pepper.The pop to my corn. They're my everything! So please give them to me:)**


	2. To The Principal's Office We Go

**I gotta take the time to put this here because I'm the author and nothing starts till I say it does! I'm dedicating this story to AngelxCollins cause she's awesome like that and she deserves it! So here's to you Muffy!**

**I own nothing. The Almighty Larson owns it all. (Except for Jenny and Penny!)**

Mark stayed close behind Tom as they walked through the crowded hallways to the principle's office. He looked to his right, to his left, and behind him noticing that all eyes were on him. Feeling self conscious, he tugged on Tom's sleeve.

"What's wrong?" Tom asked as he turned around.

"People are staring at me," Mark said, still looking around. Tom looked around himself for a moment.

"Aw. Don't worry. They won't touch ya," he said.

Mark gulped. "Touch me?"

"Just calm down. I'm right here. If anything happens, just call my name and I'll come help you, kay?" Mark gulped again and nodded. As they turned into another hallway, an 8th grader stopped Mark by grabbing his arm.

"What are you doin' in this hallway little boy?" the 8th grader asked a terrified Mark. He hyperventilated for a few seconds and then Tom's words rang in his ears.

_If anything happens, just call my name and I'll come help you, kay?_

"TOM!" he yelled. Hearing this, Tom turned around and sighed.

"Let him go. He's with me," he said. The 8th grader let go of Mark's arm and stared at Tom for a moment before realizing who he was.

"We haven't seen much of you here. You forget about us or somethin'?" he asked.

"No. Just stressed. Rumor's goin' around sayin' that I might get moved up two grades," Tom replied.

"To 9th grade?"

"Yeah."

"So, whatcha' hangin' out with this kid for?"

"He's the new kid."

"Oh. Showin' him the ropes?"

"Yeah."

"You takin' this hallway?"

"Planned to."

"Alright. Step back." Tom and Mark did as they were told.

"What's he gonna do?" Mark whispered to Tom.

"He's gonna clear the hallway," Tom whispered back. A look of confusion took over Mark's face. _Clear the hallway? _

The eighth grader cupped his hands around his mouth and took a deep breath.

**"YO! EVERYBODY MOVE BACK! TOM COLLINS IS COMIN' THROUGH!" **he yelled. To Mark's surprise, everyone moved to either side of the hallway, making a path right down the middle.

"Wow," Mark whispered. Tom looked down at him and smiled.

"You'd be surprised what happens when you know people," he said. He and Mark began walking down the newly formed path. Mark noticed several people that looked like they were glaring at him. He rushed from behind Tom to beside him and grabbed onto his arm. Tom looked down at him."What's wrong now?"

"T-they're gonna beat me up," Mark said.

"No they won't."

"Don't you see the way they're looking at me?"

"Don't worry about them."

"I can't help it." As they passed a group of girls,a set of twins pushed to the front and ran over to Tom, stopping him and Mark dead in their tracks.

"Hi Tom," the twins said at the same time, with the widest of smiles on their faces. Tom smiled back at them.

"Hi there ladies," he said.

"Hey! Did you two miss everything I yelled down this hallway!?" the 8th grader who had cleared the hallway for Tom and Mark said to the girls.

"Don't sweat it Benny. They're cool." Benny nodded and walked away as Mark let go of Tom's arm.

"So, Tom, do you have a girlfriend yet?" one of the twins asked.

"Ugh! _I _was gonna ask him that!" the other one complained.

"Well that's too bad, isn't it?"

"What makes you think he's interested in you?"

"I'm hot, you're not."

"We look exactly the same!"

"Trust me. I look _way _better."

"Jenny, Penny please. What'd I say about fightin' over me?" Tom interrupted.

"Sorry," Jenny and Penny said together.

"Now, if you'll excuse us, we'll be on our way."

"Oh my gosh! Tom, who's your little friend?" Jenny asked. Tom looked down at Mark.

"Go ahead. Tell 'em your name," he said.

"I-i'm Mark Cohen," Mark said.

"How old are you?" Penny asked.

"Uh, 11."

"Aw! He's adorable!" Jenny said.

"Really, really adorable!" Penny agreed.

"Is it good to be adorable?" Mark whispered to Tom. He received a nod in response.

"We'd better get going." Jenny said, as she and Penny gave Tom a kiss on each one of his cheeks.

"What about my friend?" Tom asked.

"Oh, we could _never _forget about little Marky," Penny said. She and Jenny then kissed Mark's cheeks.

"We'll see you at lunch Tom!" Jenny and Penny said, walking the opposite direction of Tom and Mark.

"See you there!" Tom called after them. He then looked down at Mark, who was beaming from ear to ear. Tom chuckled and waved his hand in front of Mark's face. "Yoo hoo! Mark? Anybody there?"

"Do they always give people kisses?" Mark asked, obviously indicating Jenny and Penny.

"Only if they like you," Tom explained.

"So, does that mean they like me?"

"Yup. Consider them your kissing committee."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Anytime you see them now, they're gonna give you kisses."

"Really?" Tom nodded. "I could get use to middle school." Tom laughed and ruffled Mark's short, blonde hair.

"Come on lil' man. Let's get you to the principal's office."

**My, my, my. This is really weird to write cause I'm calling Collins Tom instead of Collins. Seriously, I keep typing Collins and catching myself when I'm halfway done with the word. Oh well. I apologizes for mistakes. Reviews is nice. Reviews nice is. Nice is reviews. Is reviews nice. Is nice reviews. Okay, the last two didn't make any sense. What I'm basically sayin' is review please!**


	3. Making New Friends

**Sorry it took me sooooooo long to update this. I had to update my other story and then I had to go outta town for spring break, where I had no access to a computer whatsoever cause I ain't got a laptop and the hotel room I was stayin' in didn't have a computer other than the ones that the employees had to use. Yeah. That's my apology. Oh yeah. Before I even start writing, I'm sorry for any mistakes you may find while reading this.**

**I own nothing. The Almighty Larson owns it all.**

"Well, well, well. Here on the first day back before lunch. That's a new personal record Mr. Collins," the principle, Mr. Smee, said to Tom.

"Actually sir, I ain't here cause I did somethin' bad or wrong. I'm here with Mark Cohen, the new kid," Tom replied. Mr. Smee looked down at Mark before continuing to speak.

"Oh. Well, that's good then."

"Yes it is. Besides, if I was gonna do somethin' bad, I'd do this." Tom snatched Mr. Smee's hair, which was obviously a toupe, right off his head, revealing a bald spot in the middle of his head. "Now _that's _bad." Mark gasped as Mr. Smee turned several shades of purple before reaching a bloody type red."THOMAS COLLINS!" he yelled.

"Yeah, yeah. I know already. 'That's a detention and this will go on your permanent record young man.' I've heard it all before," Tom said in a perfect impression of Mr. Smee, sitting in a chair that was nearby the now infuriated principal's office.

"Oh no Mr. Collins. You don't get just _one _detention. You get two weeks worth of detentions as well as a Saturday school! Starting tomorrow!" Tom stood up quickly.

"That ain't fair!" he yelled.

"I'm the principal Thomas. I don't _have _to be fair," Mr. Smee retorted, smiling evilly.

"I get two weeks of detention _and _I gotta come to school on a _Saturday_?"

"That's correct."

"For what!? Takin' that 1.99 rug off your head to save you further embarrassment!?"

"No! For disrespecting your elders!"

"This is bullshit!" Mr. Smee's eyes widened at Tom's choice in language.

"That's _two _Saturday schools!" he said. Now it was Tom's eyes turn to widen.

"Two?" he repeated.

"Yes, two."

"What the fu . . ."

"Would you like to add to that Mr. Collins?" Tom sighed.

"No sir."

"I didn't think so. Now sit. I'll deal with you later." Tom sat back down, mumbling profanities under his breath.

"Maybe Saturday school won't be so bad. Maybe you won't have to eat the lunch," Mark said in the most assuring voice he could, earning himself a death glare from Tom. He backed up right into Mr. Smee's leg. "Sorry sir." Mr. Smee patted him on the head.

"It's quite alright . . . Mark, was it?" Mark nodded. "That's what I thought. I'm Mr. Smee. Now, if you'll step into my office, we can get this over with and you can get to class." As Mark walked into Mr. Smee's office, he stepped on his foot.

"Watch it Mark. You might get suspended for scuffin' up his shoes," Tom said, causing the scornful-looking principle to stare at him. "I know, I know. Another detention." Mr. Smee took his toupe from Tom and placed it back on his head before entering his office.

Inside the office, there was a desk, a computer on the desk, two chairs in front of the desk, a filing cabinet, a water dispenser, a bulletin board, and a mini fridge. _Why would there need to be a mini fridge in a principal's office? _Mark wondered.

"Uh, Mr. Smee? Why exactly do I need to be here before going to any of my classes?" Mark asked.

"Oh, it's only to get your schedule and to learn how to read it. It's nothing fancy," Mr. Smee explained. Mark nodded as Mr. Smee walked over to the filing cabinet, open the top drawer, and sort through the papers before finding Mark's schedule. "Here it is." Mr. Smee showed the schedule to Mark.

"I have seven classes?" Mark asked. Mr. Smee nodded and started to teach Mark what the names of his classes were and what the numbers beside them meant.

After his brief lesson, Mark walked out of the office.

"I take it you got outta there without gettin' in trouble," Tom said.

"Yeah. I thought he was gonna be really mean when I saw how quick he was to give you all those detentions, but he's actually pretty nice," Mark responded.

"Yeah right! He's full of sh . . ."

"What exactly am I full of?" Mr. Smee interrupted, emerging from his office.

"Uh . . . what would make you think you're full of somethin'?" Tom asked nervously.

"Your last statement was 'He's full of sh . . .' Were you about to use another curse word?"

"No. I was gonna say . . . shitoshki mushrooms. You like mushrooms right?"

"Nice try. In my office. Now. I'll be back in a few minutes." Tom sighed, stood up and walked into Mr. Smee's office as Mr. Smee himself escorted Mark to his locker and then to his first class, English.

The students in Mark's class were all up, walking around, and talking to one another when Mark and Mr. Smee walked in. Mark looked around the room as Mr. Smee talked with the English teacher. He noticed a little Hispanic boy sitting at a desk with his head down before Mr. Smee and the English teacher walked over to him.

"Mark, this is Mrs. Heredia. She's your home room and English teacher," Mr. Smee informed Mark.

"Nice to meet you Mark," Mrs. Heredia said, holding out her hand for Mark to shake it.

"You too," Mark replied, taking her hand as Mr. Smee left the room.

"As you should know, this is English and you will come here for home room and remain here for first period. Okay?"

"Okay. What's everybody doing now?"

"This is just a meet and greet period right now. Everyone's just going around the room making new friends and catching up with old ones. Why don't you go talk to some people and make some new friends?"

"I'll try." Mrs. Heredia patted Mark on his head and went back to her desk. He started to make his way over to the sad-looking Hispanic boy, but he was stopped by a girl with long, brown hair.

"HI!" the girl said, causing Mark to jump.

"Hi," Mark replied.

"I'm Maureen! What's your name?"

"Mark."

"Hi Mark! Wanna be my friend?"

"Uh, sure."

"YAY!" _Wow. That was easy_, Mark thought. He suddenly remembered about the Hispanic boy.

"Hey Maureen, who's that boy over there?" he asked, pointing to the boy, who was now being taunted by two other boys. Maureen looked over at the boy.

"Uh oh," she said. Maureen then ran over to Mrs. Heredia's desk, dragging Mark with her. "Mrs. Heredia! Those guys are messin' with that kid over there!" Mrs. Heredia looked to where Maureen was pointing and sighed before she walked over to the three boys. Maureen and Mark followed. Mrs. Heredia scolded the two boys who were picking on the other and sent them to the principal's office. She then knelt down beside the Hispanic boy and lifted his head up. His face was tear stained.

"I don't wanna talk about it," the boy said, reading Mrs. Heredia's facial expression perfectly.

"Ángel, you're going to have to talk about sooner or later," Mrs. Heredia informed Angel as he shook his head.

"Not in front of them." Mrs. Heredia turned around and saw Maureen holding Mark's hand as they stared at her and Angel. She thought for a moment and then turned back around.

¿"Ángel, son usted bien?" she asked. Angel shook his head.

"No realmente señora," he said.

¿"Qué pasó?"

"Ellos hacían la diversión de mí la causa de mi color de piel."

¿"Qué exactamente dijeron ellos?" Angel was silent for a moment. ¿"Ángel?" Angel tried to put his head down again, but Mrs. Heredia stopped him. ¿"Qué dijeron ellos?"

"Ellos siguieron llamándome un mejicano sucio," Angel finally replied. "Traté de explicarles que no soy sucio y esto es sólo mi color de piel. Y traté de explicar que soy el dominicano y no el mejicano, pero ellos no me escucharían." Angel started to cry again. Maureen let go of Mark's hand, walked over to Angel, and hugged him.

"Don't cry. I don't like it when people cry," she said.

"Me neither," Mark agreed.

"But I have no friends," Angel sobbed.

"We'll be your friends!" Maureen said. Angel wiped his eyes and sniffed.

"You will?" he asked in slight shock.

"Of course we will! Right Mark?" Mark nodded as Maureen let go of Angel.

"Well, isn't that nice?" Mrs. Heredia said. "Could you two stay with Ángel while I go to the principal's office?" Mark and Maureen both nodded as Mrs. Heredia left the classroom.

"So, your name's Ahn-hel?" Maureen asked Angel.

"That's how it's pronounced in Spanish. In English, it's Angel," Angel explained.

"Angel?" Maureen repeated. Angel nodded. "That's a cool name!"

"Thanks," Angel responded.

"No prob! I'm Maureen and this is Mark."

"Nice to meet you Maureen. You too Mark."

"Nice to meet you too Angel," Mark replied. "So, what do you guys have first period?"

"I've got English," Angel said.

"What room?" Mark asked.

"This one."

"Cool. What about you Maureen?"

"Math," Maureen said, folding her arms.

"You sound happy about that," Angel said, giggling.

"Well, I'm not! Math sucks!" Mark and Angel shared a laugh. "It's not funny!"

"So, does everyone have lunch at the same time?" Mark asked after his and Angel's small laugh.

"Yup. 5th period, outside," Angel explained.

"Are there any 8th graders?"

"Yeah. I plan to stay away from them."

"Me too!" Maureen added.

"That makes three of us," Mark said. Suddenly, the classroom door opened and Tom ran in and hid behind Mark and Maureen.

"Yo! Lil' people! Hide me!" he yelled.

"Tom, what are you doin' here? I thought you were in the principal's office," Mark said, turning around.

"I was! I escaped from Mr. Smee by kickin' him in the shins! Now he, the assistant principal, _and _the guidance counselor are after me!"

"Why'd you run away from him?"

"He was goin' call my mamma!"

"You're afraid of your mom?"

"Hell yeah! You ever see an angry black woman?"

"Not really." Maureen cleared her throat.

"What's wrong Maureen?" Mark asked.

"Aren't you gonna introduce us?" Maureen asked.

"Oh yeah! Tom, this is . . ."

"I'm Maureen!" Tom laughed.

"Hi Maureen," he said before turning to Angel. "What's your name?" Angel felt his heart beat quicken as he stared into Tom's eyes. He looked Tom up, down, and then up again, his eyes meeting Tom's for a second time. "Hello?" Angel blinked a few times before noticing Tom's outstretched hand.

"Um . . . I-i'm . . . um . . . A-angel," he stammered, shaking Tom's hand.

As Tom and Angel's hands separated, Mr. Smee walked into the classroom followed by the assistant principal, and the guidance counselor.

"There you are!" Mr. Smee said.

"Oh great," Tom said, rolling his eyes. "Well, it was nice meetin' you both." Tom ruffled Mark's hair, shook Angel's hand again, and kissed Maureen's hand. "Alright. Take me away." The assistant principal then grabbed one of Tom's arms, the guidance counselor grabbed the other, and they escorted Tom out of the room, making sure to close the door.

"Was he an 8th grader?" Maureen asked.

"No. He was a 7th grader. He knows some 8th graders though," Mark explained.

"7th or 8th grader, he's a hunk!" Mark laughed and Angel just stared at the door thinking about Tom.

__

A hunk he was, he thought.

**Tee hee! Tommy has a bad mouth! :) I once again apologize for the long wait. I like reviews, so review please!**

**Translations**

**¿"Ángel, son usted bien?"**

**"No realmente señora."**

**¿"Qué pasó?"**

**"Ellos hacían la diversión de mí la causa de mi color de piel."**

**¿"Qué exactamente dijeron ellos?"**

**¿"Ángel?"**

**¿"Qué dijeron ellos?"**

**"Ellos siguieron llamándome un mejicano sucio,"**

**"Traté de explicarles que no soy sucio y esto es sólo mi color de piel. Y traté de explicar que soy el dominicano y no el mejicano, pero ellos no me escucharían." **

**"Angel, are you okay?"**

**"Not really ma'am."**

**"What happened?"**

**"They were making fun of me cause of the color of my skin."**

**"What exactly did they say?""Angel?"**

**"What did they say?"**

**"They kept calling me a dirty Mexican."**

**"I tried to explain to them that I'm not dirty and it's just my skin color. And I tried to explain that I'm Dominican and not Mexican, but they wouldn't listen to me."**


	4. Chemistry in English

**For those of you who saw the little sparks that were created between Angel and Collins at the end of the last chapter, you guys have good eyes! And this story is **_**still **_**dedicated to AngelxCollins for just bein' plain awesome! WHOOOOOO! **

**I own nothing. The Almighty Larson owns it all.**

"Hello class. As some of you already know, my name is Mrs. Heredia and I am your English teacher," Mrs. Heredia said as she wrote her name on the board. "Please copy from the board everything under the words "The Rules of Writing" as well as your homework assignment while I take attendance to see who's here and who's not."

_Homework on the first day? Man! _Mark thought. As Mrs. Heredia made her way to her desk, Angel leaned over to Mark.

"Psst. Mark," he whispered. Mark looked up from his paper.

"Yeah?" he whispered back.

"How do make a lowercase 'E?'"

"You mean, you don't know how to write in English?"

"I know how to write in English. 'E's' are just tricky for me." Mark nodded and helped Angel write a lowercase 'E.' "Thanks." Angel and Mark started writing again. It wasn't long before Angel whispered Mark's name a second time. "Mark." Mark looked up from his paper again.

"What?" he said.

"Um . . . does Tom have a girlfriend?"

"No. I don't think so." There was a moment of silence before Angel spoke again.

"Boyfriend?" This caught Mark off guard.

"What?"

"Nothing. Never mind."

_Why would he ask me if Tom has a boyfriend? _Mark wondered._ I understand girlfriend, but boyfriend? Well . . . he might like boys. Should I ask? _Mark pondered over this for a few more seconds.

"Angel, do you like girls or boys?" he asked finally. Angel was silent for a moment and let the question sink in.

_If I tell him I like boys, he might get grossed out and he won't be my friend anymore. But if I say I like girls, then I'll be lying to him and myself. I better tell him the truth._

"Boys." Before Mark could respond, Mrs. Heredia stood up and walked back to the front of the class.

"Alright class. Time to . . ." Mrs. Heredia was interrupted by the phone on her desk. She groaned and made her way to the phone. "Hello? Yes sir." As Mrs. Heredia carried on her conversation with the person on the phone, Mark tried to get Angel's attention.

"Psst. Angel," he whispered, receiving no answer. "Angel." Still no answer. "Psst." Mrs. Heredia at this point had hung up the phone.

"Class, I'll be right back. Talk amongst yourselves," she said. She left the room and students began to move to other seats to sit by friends.

"Angel," Mark said in a normal voice. Angel didn't answer. "Come on Angel. Why aren't you talking to me? Are you mad at me or something?" Angel shook his head. "Then what's up?"

"I just don't want you to judge me, that's all," Angel said.

"Judge you? I'm not gonna judge you. I just wanted to know if you like girls or boys."

"I told you I like boys."

"Is that why you asked me if Tom had a boyfriend?"

"I said 'girlfriend' first!"

"Yeah, but 'boyfriend' is the word that stuck in my head."

"You're judging me!"

"No I'm not." There was a silence between the two boys. "Do you like Tom?" Angel blushed slightly. "Well, do you?"

"Yeah," Angel said, turning an even darker shade of red. "But you can't tell him! He'll think I'm a freak!"

"No he won't. He's really nice. He might even like you back."

"That'll be the day." The classroom door suddenly opened and Mrs. Heredia, pulling Tom by his arm, walked in.

"Do you remember what I said to you on the last day of school last year?" Mrs. Heredia asked Tom.

"Can I have a hint?" Tom asked. Mrs. Heredia rolled her eyes.

"I told you to stay out of trouble this year."

"How am I supposed to stay outta trouble if Mr. Smee's out to get me?"

"He is _not_ out to get you."

"Yes he is. I bet he kills people and stuffs their bodies in the back of his truck."

"Thomas Collins, don't _ever_ say anything like that again!"

"You know you think the same thing!"

"Am I going to have to send you back to Mr. Smee's office?"

"NO! That's cruel and unusual punishment! Let me stay here with you! I'll behave! I promise!"

"Why would you want to stay in a classroom filled with 6th graders?"

"Cause you're my favorite teacher even though you're not gonna teach me this year." Tom looked around the room. His eyes landed on Angel and he smiled. " Please can I stay?"

"That depends on what you have this period," Mrs. Heredia said.

"Study hall. I find that really stupid since it's the first day and I have nothing to do except for cause mas chaos. And we don't want that, do we?" Mrs. Heredia sighed.

"Fine. You can stay."

"YES!"

"ONLY if you promise to behave and not distract the other students."

"I promise." Mrs. Heredia released Tom's arm and let him take an empty seat in the back of the class. He chose the one conveniently behind Angel's desk. "'Sup Mark?"

"Not much," Mark replied.

"Hey Angel," Tom said with the widest of smiles on his face. His smile made Angel melt. Why was he falling for this boy so quickly?

"Um . . . hi," Angel said.

"Hey Tom. This is just a random question, but would you be interested in Angel?" Mark asked. Angel turned brick red as Tom thought about his answer. His answer didn't come fast enough because Mrs. Heredia started speaking.

"Now that I'm sure there will be no more interruptions, class can begin," she said. For the entire period Angel could barely pay attention. He kept turning around to look at Tom, who would look up from either drawing or writing and smile at him each time. Time seemed to stand still no matter how few times Angel glanced at the clock. He couldn't stand it any longer. He needed to know what Tom's answer and he needed to know _now_.

In the hallway after class, Mark walked with Angel to his locker, which was right next to Tom's and two away from Mark's.

"So, Tom. What do you have next?" Mark asked.

"Math. Algebra to be exact," Tom replied.

"I thought Algebra was for high school students."

"It is, but apparently I can handle it." Tom looked over at Angel and smiled once again. It was just something about him that made Tom smile, but he didn't know what. "Angel, you, Mark, and Maureen wanna sit with me and my friends at lunch?"

Angel looked up at Tom. "Uh . . . I . . . I . . . um . . .we . . ." Angel couldn't seem to find the words he wanted to say. Who was he kidding? He could barely form a sentence around Tom.

"I think that translates into: Sure," Mark said.

"Cool," Tom replied. "By the way Angel, I'm _very _interested." Tom bent down and, not caring who saw, gave Angel a small kiss on his cheek before waving goodbye and heading to his next class. As Angel watched him leave, he smiled and leaned against a wall.

"Didn't I tell you he'd like you?" Mark asked. Angel's smile widened.

"Yeah and I'm glad you were right," he said.

**Yay for little Angel and Collins! Mistakeys and left out wordies are all apologized for. Now, you must review! Please?**


	5. Coming Together At Lunch

**Yay for little Angel and Collins again! I care not what anyone says. THEY ARE THE CUTEST COUPLE IN THE HISTORY OF HISTORY! OH HOW I LOVE THEM SO! (clears throat) Yeah. **

**I own nothing. The Almighty Larson owns it all.**

As Mark walked to his next class, Science, he heard his name being called from somewhere behind him.

"MARK!" He turned around and saw Maureen just before she trapped him in a bone crushing hug. "I missed you sooooo much!"

"Maureen, it hasn't been _that _long! And you're crushing my lungs!" Mark yelled. Maureen released him.

"Sorry Mark. I'm just happy to see you!" she said.

"I can see that. I just saw Tom."

"Really!? What happened!?"

"I found out that if you two were together . . ."

"Yeah?"

"He wouldn't like it." Maureen's face fell.

"Why not? Am I not pretty enough for him?" she asked, feeling self conscious.

"No. It's not that. It's . . .

"He's found another girl?"

"No it's . . ."

"I bet she's an 8th grader! I'll hunt her down and . . ."

"**MAUREEN!"**

"What?"

"He didn't find another girl."

"Oh. Then why wouldn't he like being with me?"

"It's just . . . he doesn't really want a girlfriend. Ever."

"Huh?"

"He doesn't like girls Maureen." Maureen's eyes went as wide as dinner plates.

"What do mean he doesn't like girls?" she asked.

"I mean, he likes boys," Mark explained.

"Are you saying he's gay?"

"Um . . . yeah." Maureen fell silent. "Maureen?" Mark waved his hand in front of Maureen's face. "Hello? Maureen? Say something. Anything."

"He's really gay?" Maureen asked.

"Yup. Sorry," Mark replied.

"That . . . is TOTALLY WICKED!"

"It is?"

"Yeah! I've always wanted a gay friend!"

"Well, now you've got one."

"So, who's he interested in?"

"You're not gonna believe it."

"Yes I will. Tell me!"

"He likes Angel."

"Really? Oh my gosh! That's so cool! I bet they'll make the cutest couple! And . . . wait. Angel likes boys too?" Mark nodded. "Holy crap! I have _two _gay friends now! And I met a really awesome girl! This is the best day ever!"

"You met an awesome girl?" Mark asked.

"Yup. Her name's Joanne. She's really smart and she said she'd help me with my stupid math homework," Maureen said.

"You got homework too?"

"Yeah. It's just multiplying stuff. What's your homework?"

"I gotta write about something that happened over summer break."

"That shouldn't be hard."

"It's not, but I can't think of what to write."

"I'm sure it'll come to you."

"I hope it does. So, when do I get to meet Joanne?"

"I invited her to sit with us at lunch. Wherever that may be."

"We're sitting with Tom and his friends."

"Cool!" The bell rang and students, who had just been standing around and talking like Mark and Maureen, scattered through the halls trying to get to their next class.

"Maybe we should get to class now," Mark said. Maureen nodded in agreement and the two hurried off to Science.

* * *

"Aw man! My mom packed me animal crackers! What am I? Four?" a boy with somewhat long blonde hair complained.

"Maybe it's time you started packing your own lunch then," a girl with long brown hair informed the boy, making several people giggle.

"Shut up Mimi!" the blonde boy said.

"Make me," Mimi retorted.

"Maybe I will!"

"Ya'll fight like an old married couple," Tom stated.

"Roger started it!" Mimi said.

"I did not!" Roger responded.

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"TOO!"

"NOT!"

"Married couple," Tom said in singsong voice.

"You don't have any say in this! You said you were never getting married whether it was legal or not!" Roger informed Tom.

"Well, after today, that might change," Tom said with a smile on his face.

"Ooh. Did you meet a nice boy?" Mimi asked.

"A very nice boy."

"Is he younger or older?"

"Younger."

"Dude, are you dating a 6th grader?" Roger asked.

"We're not dating! Yet. And yes, he's a 6th grader and there's no shame in it."

"You're desperate."

"I think it's cute Tom's dating a younger man," Mimi said.

"Mimi, he's a 6th grader," Roger reminded her.

"So what?" Mimi took a drink of her soda.

"So, he's still a kid. Besides, you're not a real man til you've done it." Here this made Mimi spit the soda that was in her mouth all over Benny.

"Ew! Gross!" he said in disgust, picking up a nearby napkin.

"Sorry," Mimi said. "Roger, that was uncalled for. He's probably only like 10 or 11."

"That's beside the point. So, how 'bout it Tom? You gonna take you're little 6th grader's virginity?" Roger teased.

"I'm not, I repeat not, gonna take his virginity Roger," Tom said.

"Then you'll be a boy forever."

"No I won't!"

"Uh huh. You're not a man til you sleep with someone."

"And how many people have _you _slept with?" Mimi asked Roger with a smirk on her face.

"This isn't about me."

"I'm taking that as a 'zero.'"

"Will you stay outta this!?"

"Why? Cause you know you're still a virgin?"

"No! Cause this is a _**GUY **_conversation!"

"I really don't think you should be having this conversation at all!"

"_You _would!"

"You guys are seriously like a marri . . ." Tom started.

"**YOUR LIFE IS OVER IF YOU SAY 'MARRIED COUPLE!'" **both Roger and Mimi yelled as a red-haired girl came to the table.

"Alright I won't say it. But, just so you know, I'm eatin' these." Tom took Roger's animal crackers from his lunch box.

"I'm guessing I came over here at the wrong part of the conversation," the red-haired girl said.

"You think?" Benny replied.

"April's here! She'll take my side!" Mimi declared.

"No she won't! She'll take my side!" Roger argued.

"Actually, whatever stupid argument you guys are having, count me out," April said. "Besides, I found some little kids who said they know you Tom."

"Where are they?" Tom asked.

"They're right . . ." April looked behind her and saw that the kids she was supposed to bring to the table were standing far away from her. _Very _far away. "I think they're afraid to move."

* * *

"We should hold hands and walk over," Maureen declared.

"No! If we hold hands, it'll be easier for them to kill us! We should stay right here!" Angel said.

"We gotta get over there somehow."

"Maureen's right. We can't let them scare us," Mark agreed.

"Joanne, what do you think?" Maureen asked her new friend.

"I think if they touch us, we should sue," Joanne said.

"We can't sue. We're not old enough yet!" Angel said.

"You're never to young to report a crime. My dad taught me that and he's a lawyer. Plus, I heard bullying is a type of sexual harassment."

"Good plan," Mark said.

"Guys, nobody's suing anybody. We'll be fine. It's no big deal," Maureen said.

"How can you say that? Don't you see all these 8th graders? We'll get massacred!" Angel said.

"Don't you think I know that?"

"Then how is it 'no big deal?'"

"Cause Tom's coming over here." As soon as Maureen said Tom's name, Angel looked in the direction of the table they were supposed to follow April to and, sure enough, Tom was approaching them.

"Hey, ain't ya'll supposed to be sittin' with me over there?" Tom asked the four 6th graders.

"Yeah, but Angel's scared to move," Maureen said.

"I am not!" Angel protested.

"Don't listen to him. He's _really _scared. Maybe you should hold his hand to comfort him." Angel turned bright red.

"Maureen, stop," he said, looking at the ground. Tom lifted his head up so that they were looking right into each other's eyes.

"Don't be embarrassed. I really don't need an excuse to hold your hand," Tom said, making Angel smile as his skin color went back to normal.

"Really?" Angel said. Tom grabbed Angel's hand with the hand that he used to lift his head up and nodded.

"Awwwwww!" both Maureen and Joanne said.

"You guys are such girls," Mark said.

"There's something wrong with that sentence that you should really correct," Tom said, chuckling. "Alright people. Let us go and dine. But first, does anyone have to buy a school lunch?" Maureen, Mark, and Joanne all shook their heads. "So, it's just you who needs to buy a lunch Angel?"

"I was going to, but I can't," Angel replied sadly.

"Why not?"

"Cause when I was going to 2nd period, some 8th grade guy told me I wasn't allowed to use the hallway. I told him I was gonna be late and said he didn't care then had a friend of his take my money. Then he threatened me."

"Do you know who he was?" Angel shook his head.

"Now I won't be able to eat and I was sent to bed last night without dinner," he said.

"You mean your parents told you to go to sleep without giving you dinner?" Maureen asked.

"I don't live with my parents. They couldn't afford to have me, so I live with my uncle and my grandma. At least til my parents earn enough money to take care of me," Angel explained.

"Well, I don't get it. Who sent you to bed without dinner?"

"My uncle. My grandma tried to sneak me something to eat, but he caught her and yelled at her. He said I didn't deserve food."

"That's a form of child abuse!" Joanne stated. "Does he do anything else to you Angel?"

"No. Nothing," Angel said quickly. _Unless you call hitting for no apparent reason 'nothing.'_

"I'm sorry to hear that Angel. We can share my lunch, if you want," Tom offered. Angel smiled.

"I'd like that," he said. The five of them, Tom and Angel hand-in-hand, walked over to the table. They sat down and after everyone was introduced, random conversations were created. Tom shared his lunch with Angel, animal crackers and all, and it seemed that everything was running smoothly. That is until, Angel recognized someone at the table as a not-so-friendly person. He scooted closer to Tom and, sensing that he was frightened, Tom put an arm around him.

"What's wrong?" he asked a now shivering Angel.

"He's the guy who told his friend to take my money," Angel whispered, looking in the direction of Benny. Tom looked to where Angel's attention was and scowled when he saw who Angel was talking about. Before he could confront Benny, the bell rang and everyone started heading off to their 6th period class. As Tom walked with his arm protectively around Angel, Angel looked up at him and asked, "What are you gonna do?"

"What are you talkin' about?" Tom responded.

"You look like you're about to do something to Benny that'll get you in trouble cause of me."

"I ain't gonna do nothin' to him. I'm just gonna talk to him."

"You promise?" Tom crossed his fingers behind his back.

"I promise," he said. "You go on to your locker, I'll see you a little later."

"Okay, but you promise you won't do anything bad?" Angel asked.

"I promise."

"You're just gonna talk to him?"

"That and only that." Angel smiled at this answer. Little did he know, Tom still had his fingers crossed.

_Talk to him I shall_, he thought.

**Yay for this chapter. Not cause I think it rocked, but cause it's done and I can go to sleep after I say two more things! 1) I apologize for any mistakes you find. And 2) Review please!**


	6. Promises Can Be Broken

**Wheeeeeee! This is the part where I update! YAY UPDATING! I just looked at a pic of Jesse and never actually realized how incredibly SEXY he is! Don't get me wrong, I've always thought he was sexy, but a new level of sexiness was brought to my attention. The things I would do to him . . . are not gonna be mentioned. Ignore all of that and just read.**

**I own nothing. The Almighty Larson owns it all.**

A somewhat infuriated Tom walked over to an unsuspecting Benny's locker and slammed it shut, nearly taking his fingers off.

"What the hell?" Benny said, checking to see if he still had all of his fingers.

"Did you take Angel's money?" Tom asked, getting right to the point.

"Why?"

"Did you?"

"What if I did?"

"I'm gonna ask you one more time." Tom grabbed Benny by his shirt collar and pulled him close. "Did you take Angel's money?"

"Technically, no." Benny removed Tom's hands from his collar.

"Who the hell said I was bein' technical? I asked you a question and I want a straight answer!"

"No."

"Do you have it?"

"Yes."

"I thought you didn't take it."

"I didn't. James took it. Did the little runt tell you _I _took it?"

"He ain't a runt! Now, what'd you say to him?"

"What are you talkin' about?"

"You threatened him! What'd you say?"

"I don't have time for this." Benny turned to two of his friends that were standing by his locker. "James, Chris. Handle my light work, will ya?" Benny opened his locker again and began searching for a notebook.

"I should've known you'd be scared," Tom said. Benny stopped rummaging through his locker, shut it, and came toward Tom.

"What'd you just say?" he asked.

"I didn't stutter." Benny pushed Tom and he stumbled a bit. "I know you didn't just push me."

"What if I did?"

_No Tom. You promised you wouldn't do anything. Just walk away and you'll be fine_, Tom thought as he turned on his heels and started to leave.

"What's the matter? Scared to fight, faggot?" Benny asked. Tom stopped dead in his tracks and turned around.

"What was that last part?" he asked.

"Gay _and _deaf? Wow. You're _all_ fucked up." Without giving it a second thought, Tom pounced on Benny, knocking him to the ground, and started punching him, shouting things like, "Don't ever call me that!" and "This is for Angel!"

"They're fighting!" a student that was passing by said. Soon there was a crowd of students around Benny and Tom yelling, "FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"

"Who's fighting?" Mark asked, standing with Maureen, Joanne, and Angel in the back of the crowd.

"I don't know, but I bet they're older than us," Joanne said.

"Kick his ass Tom!" the 6th graders heard a random person yell.

"Tom?" Angel said in shock.

_That can't be right. He told me he was just gonna talk_, he thought, starting to make his way to the front of the crowd.

"Excuse me," he kept saying, as he made to the front of the crowd and saw Tom holding his fist in the air, apparently about to punch Benny. His mouth dropped. "Tom!" Tom stopped his fist from making contact with Benny's face, looked over at Angel, and stood up.

"Angel, before you say anything, I-" Tom started.

"Have completely lost your mind!" Angel interrupted. "How could you!?"

"Angel-"

"You said you wouldn't do anything like this! You promised!"

"Angel, I didn't mean to-"

"You promised me, Tom!"

"Angel, just let me explain."

"No! You lied to me!" Angel ran off and Tom rubbed his hands over his face as the crowd cleared, except for Maureen, Joanne, and Mark. He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Dude, what was that about?" Roger asked.

"I don't wanna talk about it," Tom said. "I'm such an idiot! And I'm pretty sure everyone else thinks so too."

"Nobody thinks you're an idiot."

"Tom Collins! You are the biggest idiot I've ever met in my life!" Mimi yelled, walking toward Tom and Roger.

"See? Nobody," Roger said to Tom, making a motion toward Mimi.

"Fuck you!" Mimi retorted, turning to Tom. "Now, tell me what the hell you did so I have a reason to kick your face in!"

"Why exactly are you being so violent Mimi?" Mark asked.

"I just saw Angel," Mimi said.

"That doesn't explain anything," Joanne stated.

"I was getting to that part!" Mimi said, raising her voice again. Joanne backed up a little. "Anyway, he was crying."

"Crying?" Tom repeated.

"Yes, crying. And when I asked him what was wrong, all he said was your name and then he ran off, still crying. So, I wanna know what the hell you did to him!"

"I promised him I wouldn't fight Benny for taking his money and I did. I broke a promise to him, but I didn't think it would make him cry." Tom felt like crying himself.

"Well, you should go talk to him," Roger suggested.

"That was the most educated thing I've heard you say all day," Mimi stated. Roger flipped her off.

"You're right Rog. I'll talk to him. If I can find him," Tom said, starting to leave.

* * *

Angel sat on the floor in one of the boy's bathroom crying uncontrollably. He didn't like to be lied to. Especially when it involved someone standing up for him. His knees were pulled up to his chest and his head was buried in his arms. Footsteps could be heard coming into the bathroom, but Angel didn't bother to look up. He then heard an all too familiar voice say, "Well, well, well. If it ain't the lil' runt of a 6th grader." Angel looked up and saw Benny with two of his friends.

"Go away," Angel said, wiping his eyes.

"Are you cryin'?" Benny asked.

"No," Angel replied, sniffing.

"Yeah you are. And for no reason either."

"What do say we give him something to cry about?" one of Benny's friends asked. Benny and his friends came closer to Angel until they had him cornered. Benny's friends then picked up the shivering Angel and held him still.

"Ah, the lovely job of puttin' 6th graders in their place," Benny said. "This is gonna be fun."

**Dun, dun, dun! I couldn't resist. I love cliff hangers! But I hate shortness! I swear by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin (if I had any) the next chap. will be longer! Mistakes are always apologized for. Reviews are like pie. Sweet and satisfying! :)**


	7. The First Kiss

**Time for the next chapter. YAY! And yes, this chapter is short. I know I promised that this would be longer, but I'm breaking that promise. I'm sorry, but I felt this should be one chapter.**

**I own nothing. The Almighty Larson owns it all.**

"Don't hurt me!" Angel pleaded, putting his hands in front of his face. "I'm not worth it!" He heard Benny laugh slightly.

"If you're associated in any way with that ass-wipe Tom Collins, then you're totally worth it," Benny replied, removing Angel's hands and rasing his fist to ready himself for to deliver the first blow. Angel closed his eyes and braced himself for the worst. A hand suddenly grabbed Benny's fist.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a familiar voice said. Benny turned around to face Tom.

"Come to help your little boyfriend?" he asked teasingly. His friends sniggered.

"I already kicked your ass once today. Don't make me do it again," Tom warned. "Now, let him go." Benny stepped closer to Tom.

"Gimmie one good reason why I should," he said.

"He ain't got nothin' to do with this. It's between you and me." Benny looked from Tom to Angel and then to Tom again.

"Oddly, you're right. I'll deal with you later," he said, turning back to Angel and motion for his friends release him. "You got lucky kid." Benny and his friends left the bathroom. Angel sighed in relief and slid down the wall until he was once again sitting on the floor. Tom soon joined him.

"Why'd you fight him?" Angel asked immediately.

"Well . . . partially cause he called me a faggot, but mostly cause he threatened you," Tom replied.

"I told you not to do that! You promised you wouldn't!"

"I know, but it wasn't my fault! It was blind fury!"

"But I told you not to!"

"You know, I'd think you'd be a little more appreciative considering I fought him for you!"

"I repeat: I. Told. You. Not. To."

"Well, why?" Angel fell silent. "Hello?"

"My brother . . ." Angel stopped himself.

"What about your brother?" Tom asked.

"When I was 8 and my brother was 13, I told him that my un . . . someone hit me . . . was hitting me. I showed him the bruises and . . . he got really mad so he said he'd do somethin' about it. He confronted the person and . . ." Angel trailed off as a tear fell from his eye.

"What happened? Did the person hurt your brother?" Tom asked concernedly. Angel shook his head.

"He . . . killed him," he said. Tom wiped the tear away that had fallen from Angel's eye.

"I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. Now you know why I didn't want you to fight for me."

"I'm sorry. Look, I promise I won't break anymore promises, okay?" Angel nodded and there was a silence.

After a moment, Tom broke the silence.

"Um . . . Angel?" he started.

"Yeah?" Angel replied.

"I know we've only known each other for a short amount of time, but . . . I really like you." Angel smiled.

"I really like you too."

"That's good. Uh . . . I was wondering . . . um . . . could I . . . maybe . . . hopefully . . . possibly . . . kiss you? I really want to. I mean, unless you don't want me to. Cause then I won't even though I've been thinkin' about it all day, but it took me until now to actually . . ." Angel stopped Tom's babbling by putting a finger to his mouth.

"You talk too much," he said, removing his finger. "If you wanna kiss me, then go ahead. You're not the only one who's been thinkin' about it." Tom smiled, cupped Angel's face in his hands, and kissed him how he felt he should be kissed as Roger entered the bathroom.

"Tom, are you . . . oh. I'll leave you two alone," Roger said, turning around and exiting the bathroom. Angel and Tom's kiss soon ended and they rested their foreheads on each others.

"Tom, does this mean you'll always be with me?" Angel whispered. Tom smiled and gave Angel a small peck.

"Don't worry. I'll cover you," he whispered back.

**YAY! FLUFF! Sorry I didn't really mention anyone else, but I needed to write that. It made me all warm inside. Reviews are still like pie. And I like pie! ;)**


	8. The Lady

**I have nothing important to say except that the title of this chapter isn't the result of me being lazy. There's a reason it's called "The Lady." Okay? Okay.**

**I own nothing. The Almighty Larson owns it all.**

"Tell me!" Mimi demanded for about the fifth time after the bell that signified that school was over had rang.

"No," Tom replied with an annoyed look on his face as he and Mimi exited the school building.

"Why not?"

"Cause it's none of your business."

"I'm makin' it my business. Come on! Tell me! Please?"

"No, no, and no! Who told you about it anyway?"

"Roger did." Roger soon appeared followed by Mark.

"Speak of the devil," Tom said, glaring at Roger.

"What are you lookin' at me like that for?" Roger asked.

"He's mad cause you blabbed about him, Angel, and their major lip-lock," Mimi explained.

"Lip-lock?" Mark repeated.

"Yeah. And he won't tell me about it!" Mimi complained.

"It's none of your damn business!" Tom said as Angel appeared at his side.

"What's goin' on?" Angel asked.

"They're trying to get Tom to tell about you guys kissing," Mark explained.

"Angel, you're the only one he'll listen to. Get him to tell, please?" Mimi begged.

"Why don't you just ask Roger? He knows about it just as much as Angel and I do," Tom wittily interjected.

"Cause I'm not asking him. I'm asking you."

"You ain't goin' get it outta me. He's your best bet." Mimi groaned.

"Fine," she said, turning to Roger. "Would you be so kind as to tell me about their kiss?"

"I can't describe it," Roger said.

"You could show her," Mark suggested.

"That's a good idea." Roger thought for a moment before walking up to Mimi and kissing her, making everyone's eyes widen.

"Uh . . . Roger?" Mimi said, still in slight shock.

"Yeah?" Roger replied.

"You just kissed me."

"Uh, I know that."

"Why?"

"To show you what I think their kiss would've been like . . . and I've always wanted to do that."

"Oh. Well, in that case . . ." Mimi punched Roger in the arm. "Don't ever do it again!"

"What the hell was that for!?" Roger asked, rubbing his arm.

"You've been an ass all day and then you just . . . kiss me! Either you're really stupid or . . . or . . . that's it. You're a stupid ass!"

"Well maybe that's just my way of telling you . . ." Roger cut himself off.

"Telling me what!?" Mimi asked angrily.

"Telling you that I like you!" Roger yelled.

"Well . . . maybe me doing things like punching you is _my _way of saying I like you too!" Mimi yelled back.

"Oh really!?"

"Yes really! Maybe I've liked you for a really long time, but didn't realize it cause I hated you so much!"

"Well, are you saying you like me or what!?"

"That depends on if _you're _saying you like _me_!"

"I _am _saying I like you!"

"Then I'm saying I like you!"

"Then I guess we're boyfriend and girlfriend now!"

"I guess so!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

There was a silence until Tom broke it by asking, "Can someone remind me again why I'm friends with these people?"

* * *

"I still can't believe you guys kissed!" Maureen exclaimed. "I wish I could've seen it!"

"You've been saying that ever since we left school," Roger pointed out.

"What's your point?"

"Will you shut up already?"

"Hey, Casanova, be nice," Tom said.

"Don't call me that!" Roger demanded.

"Someone wanna tell me where we're going?" Joanne asked.

"Central Park," Tom said.

"Why?" Mark asked.

"Cause that's where Pee Wee lives and I want you guys to meet him," Tom said.

"Who's that?" Angel asked.

"His dog," Mimi said.

"Why doesn't your dog live with you?" Maureen asked.

"Cause my mamma don't like pets in the house unless it's a goldfish," Tom explained. All the 6th graders nodded to show they understood as the seven friends neared Central Park and immediately heard barking.

"I hear a dog, but I don't see a dog," Maureen said, looking around.

"He likes to surprise people," Tom said as Roger, who wasn't paying attention, was knocked to the ground by Pee Wee.

"Tom! Get your oversized dog off me!" Roger yelled as Pee Wee licked his face.

"Hey, Pee Wee! I got somethin' for ya!" Tom said, luring the big, black Labrador away from Roger with a chew toy. "Here ya go!" Tom threw the toy and watched Pee Wee chase it.

"He's big," Joanne stated, watching Pee Wee play with his new toy.

"I know. He's gonna stop growin' soon," Tom said. "So, my little 6th grade buddies, what time does everyone have to be home?"

"Usually 3:00 for me, but if I'm with friends I can stay out til 6:00," Angel said. Collins nodded and turned to the other 6th graders.

"What about you guys?" he asked.

"Six," Mark and Joanne said together.

"6:30!" Maureen exclaimed.

"You sure are happy about that," Tom said, chuckling.

The friends went further into the park talked, laughed, and did there homework, the 7th graders helping the 6th graders. Phone numbers were given out as well as addresses. Time eventually sped up and it was soon 5:30 on the dot.

"Guess we should get you guys home, huh?" Tom asked.

"Guess so," Angel replied. "You still gonna call me?" Tom smiled and gently kissed Angel's lips.

"Of course," he said.

"OH MY GOSH! THEY KISSED AND I SAW IT!" Maureen exclaimed.

"You clearly have no life Maureen," Roger said, earning himself a smack in the head from Mimi.

"Hey Tom, where's Pee Wee?" Mark asked.

"That's a thought," Tom said, standing up. "Pee Wee! Where are you!?" Pee Wee ran up to Tom, barking excitedly.

"What's up with your dog man?" Roger asked.

"I don't know," Tom replied. "Yo! Pee Wee! Calm your little ass down!" Pee Wee then ran up to Angel and, using his teeth, took his backpack right out of his hand.

"Hey!" Angel said as Pee Wee ran off with his backpack.

"Oh great," Tom said to himself, starting to run after his hyper dog with his friends close behind.

Further into the park, Pee Wee finally stopped running, let Angel's backpack fall out of his mouth, and began barking again.

"Well, at least I can get my bag ba- ah!" Angel said, tripping and falling.

"Angel, you o- ah!" Tom said, falling over the same thing Angel did and landing on top of him. "Uh, you okay?"

"I don't know. My arm hurts a little," Angel replied, staring into Tom's eyes as he rolled off of him. He then inspected his arm. "I cut myself! It burns!"

"Let me see," Mimi said as Angel stood up and put his arm out. "Ouch. That's a deep cut."

"Hey Angel. Did you cut your leg too?" Mark asked.

"No. Why?" Angel replied.

"You've got blood on your pant leg." As Tom stood up Angel looked down and, sure enough, there was blood on his left pant leg. Blood that was definitely not his.

"Where'd that come from?" Angel asked nervously, getting scared.

"There's more blood on that pile of leaves," Roger said, starting to move the leaves.

"What are you doing?" Mimi asked.

"There has to be something under here." Roger continued to move the leaves out of his way until a woman's head and arm were revealed.

"Make that someone," Joanne said with widened eyes.

"She's not moving," Maureen pointed out.

"She's . . . she's . . ." Mark started.

"Muerta," Angel finished before falling to the ground. Mimi knelt down beside him.

"I think he fainted," she said.

"What does 'muerta' mean?" Maureen asked.

"It means dead," Mimi explained. The middle schoolers stood in silence trying to revive Angel and make themselves believe that this was a dream.

Little did they know, they were being watched.

**Hmm . . . I think I'm gonna stop it here. This is fun to write. Oh yes. Yes it is. Even if there **_**are **_**mistakes. It's also fun to read your reviews. So, be kind and review please!**


	9. Late

**Pop quiz: How many minutes are in a year? What four words can be substituted for "live every day like it's your last?" What are the bohos not gonna pay? And finally, what's my real first name? I'm curious to find out how many of you actually know. I bet every last one of you goes to my profile to find out. CHEATERS! **

**I own nothing. The Almighty Larson owns it all.**

After about an hour, Angel woke up to find himself in Tom's arms. His eyes shifted around for a moment before he sat up, looked into Tom's eyes, and finally found his voice.

"What happened?" he asked. He then noticed Tom had either been crying or was about to cry. "What's wrong?"

"You fainted," Tom said. "You've been out for at least an hour. We all thought you were . . ." He stopped himself.

"Dead?" Angel guessed, looking around at everyone else. He received a slight nod from Tom. "But I'm not dead. I'm okay . . . wait. Did you just say I've been out for an hour?"

"It's actually been more like an hour and a half," Mark said, looking at his watch. "It's 7:03." Angel's eyes widened.

"7:03?" he repeated.

"Yup." Angel suddenly jumped out of Tom's arms and to his feet.

"Oh no! I'm late! My abuela's gonna be worried! And my uncle's gonna kill me!"

"Angel, we're all late," Mimi stated.

"But you guys coulda left," Angel pointed out.

"We know. We wanted to stay to make sure you were alright," Joanne said.

"Really?"

"Yeah. What are friends for?" Roger said, making Angel smile.

"Okay, who's ready to get yelled at?" Tom asked, blinking away tears.

"I don't think anyone's _ready _Tom," Maureen said.

"We're gonna get yelled at regardless. Might as well be prepared." Everyone nodded in agreement and started to head to their rightful homes, still completely unaware of the man behind a tree carrying a shovel and watching their every move.

* * *

"**THOMAS COLLINS! WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN!?" **Tom's mother's voice was filled with a combination of rage and worry.

"Anita, you know I love you, but could you _please _use your inside voice?" Tom's father pleaded, sitting at the kitchen table rubbing his head.

"Dad, you don't look so good," Tom observed. "You feelin' okay?"

"Headache and a long day," his father replied.

"Ooh. Bad combo there."

"Ed, could you _not _interrupt while I'm trying to scold our son?" Anita asked as calmly as possible.

"Did it ever cross your mind that maybe he doesn't need to be scolded?" Ed replied.

"I beg to differ! I got a call from his principal today saying that he has two weeks of detention and two Saturday schools! And it's all because you're always afraid to punish him no matter what the hell he does!"

"So he's a little rebellious. So what?"

"So what!? If he committed a murder, would you say 'so what?'"

"Of course I wouldn't say that."

"So you'd ground him?"

"No. If he committed a murder, he'd be in a correctional facility."

"Why are you being so nonchalant about this!?"

"I'm not being nonchalant, I'm parenting."

"So am I!"

"I beg to differ."

"UGH! Since you think your parenting skills are so much better than mine . . ." Anita pushed Tom toward Ed before saying, "YOU TALK TO HIM!" She then stormed out of the kitchen.

"Wow," Ed said. "You've officially pissed her off."

"Actually, I think _you _did," Tom said.

"Well, she wants me to talk to about being late so . . ."

"Dad, it's not my fault I'm late," Tom interrupted.

"I know it's not your fault. I just want you to tell me _why _you're late." Tom's mind went back to the park. He could do one of two things: He could tell the truth and say that he and his friends found a dead woman and then Angel passed out, but he was pretty sure that neither of his parents would let him out of the house again. Or he could lie. The problem is: No matter how thought out the story was, he couldn't lie to his dad. That's what he hated about having a homicide detective for a father. He interrogated people all day so he'd always catch Tom if he tried to lie. "I'm waiting for my answer."

"A friend of mine got hurt and I guess he can't stand the sight of blood cause he fainted," Tom said quickly. Which technically wasn't a lie. "That reminds me. Can I go call him? Just to make sure he's alright." Ed sat in silence for a moment.

_Please don't go all scary-cop-interrogator person on me_, Tom prayed silently in his head.

"Go ahead," Ed said. Tom smiled.

"Thanks dad," he said, heading off to his room.

"And bring me some Tylenol!"

* * *

As Roger neared his house, he saw two policemen on his porch. His mother was notorious for overreacting when it came to her son. He rolled his eyes and walked past the policemen and into the house, dropping his backpack in front of the door.

"Anybody home?" he called.

"Roger? Is that you?" his mother called back. Without giving him anytime to answer, she appeared in the hallway, ran to him, and hugged him tightly. "I was worried sick! Where were you? Are you alright?"

"Mom! Oxygen is a necessity for breathing!" Roger yelled, trying to pry his mother's arms from around him.

"Sorry honey," Mrs. Davis said, releasing Roger and running a hand through his hair. "Do you ever brush this stuff?" She continued "fixing" Roger's hair.

"Mom! Cut it out! You'll mess it up!" Roger complained, stepping away from his mother as one of the policemen entered the house.

"Ma'am, is this your son?" he asked.

"Yes he is. You can go now," Mrs. Davis replied. The policemen nodded and he and his partner left. Roger then turned to his mother.

"Mom, are we gonna have to go through that every day after school?"

* * *

Angel walked into his house, shut the door as quietly as possible, and took off his shoes. If his uncle was home, he didn't want to make any noises whatsoever.

¿"Ángel?" Angel sighed in relief when he heard his grandmother, Ángela (who he was named after), calling him. He followed her voice into the livingroom where she was sitting on the couch.

"Hi abuelita," Angel said, sitting down beside Ángela, who pulled him into a hug and kissed his forehead.

"You're late, nieto," she said, with a very thick accent.

"I know," Angel said. "Is he home yet?"

"No. He left half an hour ago to find you. He's furious Ángel."

"I was afraid of that."

"I'll do my best to protect you, nieto."

"No. I don't want you hurt."

"I don't want you hurt either." Thinking of his uncle's rage made Angel feel nervous, queasy, and scared all at the same time. It didn't matter to him though. He didn't want his grandmother to get hurt because of something he did. "I promised your parents I would take care of you and take care of you I shall."

"I wish it was just you and me."

"If it was up to me, it would be." The phone suddenly rang and Ángela picked it up. ¿"Bueno? Yes he is. Hold on." She gave the phone to Angel. "It's a Tom Collins. I'll leave you alone to talk in private."

"You can stay if you want."

"No. I should get started on dinner anyway." Angel nodded and Ángela left the room.

"Hello?" Angel said into the phone.

"_Hey. It's me," _Tom's voice came.

"I know."

"_Was that your grandma?"_

"Yeah."

"_She sounds like a happy person."_

"Most of the time she is."

"_So, whatcha' up to?"_

"As of right now nothing."

"_Did you get in trouble?"_

"No, but I'm sure I'm going to later. What about you?"

"_My mom got so mad she stopped yelling at me."_

"How does that happen?"

"_If you figure it out, let me know. Uh, you okay?"_

"Yeah. Why?"

"_Well, with the lady in the park and everything. It's kinda creepy."_

"Oh that. What should we do about her? I mean, we can't just leave her."

"_Well . . . I'm sure we'll think of somethin'."_

Suddenly, the back door was opened and there was a silence before it was slammed shut.

"**Where is he!? Where the hell is he!?"** a voice filled with pure rage yelled. Angel's heart sank.

"I-I have to go," he said.

"_Is something wrong?"_

"No. I just . . . I just have to go."

"_Um . . . okay. I'll see you tomorrow."_ Angel hung up the phone, put his backpack on his back, and started to tiptoe to his room.

"Is he here!?"Angel's uncle, Adán, yelled.

"Just calm down, Adán. Please," he heard Ángela say, apparently trying to reason with him.

"If I get my hands on that boy, I swear to God I'll . . ."

_**CRASH**_

Angel had knocked over a picture of him and Ángela.

**¡"ÁNGEL!"**Angel gasped and hurried out of the livingroom. He only got as far as the hallway before Adán stopped him. "Freeze!" Angel obeyed him. "Where the hell have you been!?" Angel stood perfectly still and remained silent as Adán came closer to him. "I'll ask you once more." Adán took his belt off and held it tightly. "Where the hell have you been Ángel?"

"I . . . I . . ." Angel couldn't speak. He kept his eyes on Adán's belt.

"You what?" As Ángela emerged from the kitchen, Angel looked into Adán's rage filled eyes. "I guess I'm going to have to beat the answer out of you." Angel's heart sank even lower and his eyes widened.

"**AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" **he screamed and started to run upstairs. Adán caught him by a part of his backpack. **"LET ME GO!" **Angel slipped out his backpack and ran to his room, locking the door behind him. Seconds later, Adán began pounding on the door.

"**Open this door! Open it now!" **he yelled.

"**NO!" **Angel yelled back. Even more furious than he was before, Adán rammed into the door with the right side of his body. Angel's heartbeat quickened and he hid under his bed. After about five minutes, Adán forced the door open and Angel held his breath. The dust under his bed went up his nose and, though he tried to fight it, he sneezed. Adán's hand then bolted under the bed, grabbed his arm, and him pulled from his hiding place.

"You should know by now that it takes much more than a locked door to get away from me!" Adán yelled. Ángela then entered the room.

"Adán, you can't keep doing this to him. Please don't do this," she begged. Ignoring her, Adán began hitting Angel as hard as he could with his belt. Despite Angel's cries and pleas, he showed no mercy. In time, Angel managed to pull Adán's hand off of his arm, only to fall to the ground. Adán took advantage of this and began kicking Angel in the face and stomach. He then used his fists to continue the beating instead of his belt. He beat Angel so badly that it hurt him to cry.

After it was over, Angel was laying on the floor bruised, bleeding slightly, and crying.

"Let this be a lesson to you Ángel. Next time, I won't be so nice," Adán said before leaving the room. Ángela helped Angel off the floor and sat on his bed, wrapping her arms around him. She was crying about as much as he was as she softly sang to him and rocked him to sleep.

**:( I didn't like writing that at all. I still want your reviews. Scratch that. I need your reviews. They're my lifeline. Without them, I die. Don't forget to answer the pop quiz. Mistakes are apologized for and please don't hate me for this.**

**Mrs. Angel Collins**

**Translations****:**

**abuela - grandmother**

**Ángela - Angela**

**abuelita - grandma **

**nieto - grandson**

**¿Bueno? - How you answer the phone in Latin American countries.**

**Adán - Adam **


	10. A Lot Can Happen on the 2nd Day

**Hi guys! I'm updating! Like you didn't know. THIS IS STILL DEDICATED TO MUFFY! I just like taking the time to say that now and then. :)**

**I own nothing. The Almighty Larson owns it all.**

"Ridin' the bus today Mark?" Tom asked his short, blonde friend.

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure my mom's having a heart attack right now," Mark replied.

"Why? She nervous?"

"More like paranoid."

"Sounds like your mom and my mom would get along great." Mark laughed as April came to the bus stop along with Benny, who had a black eye.

"Hi April," Mark said.

"Hi Mark. Tom," April replied.

"Hey April. How are May and June?" Tom asked, smiling.

"Do you have to ask me that every day?"

"Yes."

"Did you ask her that cause April, May, and June are all months?" Mark asked.

"No. I asked her that cause she has twin sisters and their names are coincidentally May and June," Tom explained.

"Oh." Tom turned his head, saw Benny glaring at him, and returned the glare.

"Collins," Benny said.

"Coffin," Tom retorted.

"What's with the last names?" April wondered out loud.

"Didn't you hear about the fight?" Mark asked.

"Fight? What fight?"

"Tom and Benny's fight."

"They fought?"

"Yup."

"Was it like a physical fight?"

"Yeah. I won, of course," Tom gloated.

"You didn't win!" Benny protested.

"Yeah I did. I even remember the last thing I did to you."

"Which is?" April asked.

"I punched him the face and gave him that black eye."

"That's where he got that from?"

"Um hmm. I got him real good."

"Only cause I wasn't ready!" Benny said.

"Well, are you ready _now_?" Tom asked.

"I guess, but why . . . ?" Before Benny could finish his question, Tom punched him in his already blackened eye causing him to yell in pain and put a hand over it.

"What the fuck was that for!?" Benny yelled.

Tom shrugged. "You said you were ready," he said, smiling.

"I hate you! I hope you burn in hell!"

"See you there."

"You guys have been friends since elementary school. What happened?" April asked.

"He turned into an ass!" Tom said.

"Better than being a fag!" Benny retorted.

"Up yours!"

"You'd like that wouldn't you?"

"Guys! Stop it! This is stupid!" Mark yelled.

"Mark's right. Maybe you guys could make up or something. At least try," April suggested. Tom and Benny looked at each other for a short moment.

"You want _me_ to make up with _him_?" Tom asked in shock.

"I was about to ask the same exact thing," Benny said.

"Well . . . yeah," April replied.

"No. Way," Tom and Benny both said as the bus pulled up.

"Fine, but when you guys are in your 20's and one of you is in jail for killing the other one don't say I didn't warn you." April then got on the bus and sat in one of the seats in the back.

* * *

"Hey, check it out. Tater tots," Roger said, looking down at his lunch tray.

"How much you wanna bet they're like a week old?" April asked.

"How much you wanna bet they're not even tater tots," Tom responded.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mark asked.

"That one just moved," Tom said.

"Which one?" Mimi asked, looking at Roger's small amount of tater tots.

"That green one right there . . . oh wait. Tater tots aren't green."

"Ew! Gross!" Maureen and Joanne said together.

"Okay. I'm not eating those," Roger said, taking the small spuds off of his tray and sitting them on the ground.

"It's your fault for buying a school lunch in the first place," Mimi pointed out.

"I had to cause I overslept and forgot to pack my lunch."

"You mean, _you _were gonna pack your own lunch today?" Tom asked, pretending to be shocked.

"Shut up!" Roger said, throwing a green bean at Tom's head as Mr. Smee approached the table.

"Trying to start a food fight, Mr. Davis?" he asked.

"Now why would I do that?" Roger asked, smiling.

"Forget I even asked. I hope you're looking forward to the two hours you get to spend after school with me today, Mr. Collins. I know I am."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Tom said sarcastically. "Did you come all the way out here to remind me of that?"

"No. I came out here to inform you that you now have a three day suspension."

"For what? Sittin' here?"

"For fighting. Benjamin is also suspended."

Roger giggled. "Benjamin," he repeated.

"Anyway, is it possible that one of you knows where Angel Schunard lives?" Mr. Smee asked.

"I do," Tom said immediately. "I haven't seen him all day though."

"That's because his grandmother called and said he wasn't feeling very well," Mr. Smee explained. "Now, I need one of you to take Angel his assignments for today."

"I just said I know where he lives," Tom pointed out.

"I know, but you have detention."

"What if I take Angel his homework and then helped you out with somethin'?"

"Hmm. I don't know. I don't really trust you."

"What if I . . . um . . . washed your car?"

"No."

"Walked your dog?"

"No."

"Cut your grass?"

"No."

"Okay. What if I did a bunch of chores around your house after school for one week, served detention for one week, and still went to Saturday school plus stayed home for my suspension?"

"Would you be able to help the students who need help with their homework too?"

"Yeah."

"Make the chore thing two weeks instead of detention and you've got yourself a deal Mr. Collins. Can you start today at five?"

"No prob!"

"Excellent." Mr. Smee walked back into the school.

"Thomas Collins, you have just managed to get yourself out of two weeks of detention. Do you have anything to say?" Mark asked, holding his hand out like a microphone.

"Mark, you're a dork for that," Tom said, pushing Mark's hand away.

* * *

As the seven friends walked, they took turns carrying Angel's books. After about five minutes, they turned down the street Angel lived on and Maureen asked, while pointing at a yellow house, "Is that Angel's house?"

"No Maureen," Tom said.

"How 'bout that one?" Maureen asked, pointing to a brown house.

"No." They passed a greenish house.

"How 'bout-"

"No!" Tom interrupted.

"Well, which one is it?" Maureen asked.

"It's that white one over there."

"How do you know?"

"Cause that's his address on the mailbox." The friends walked up the porch stairs and Tom knocked on the door.

"Un momento por favor," the middle schoolers heard a woman's voice say. Tom, April, Mark, Maureen, Joanne, and Roger all turned to Mimi at the same time and looked at her expectantly.

"Madre de Dios. You guys are helpless without me. She said 'one moment please,'" Mimi said, rolling her eyes. The door suddenly opened and the seven kids saw the face of Ángela, the woman who had just spoken to them through the door.

"Hola niños," Ángela said, smiling.

"Hola señora," Mimi said, looking around at her Spanish-illiterate friends. ¿"Señora, Habla Usted inglés?"

"Sí. ¿Me quisiera usted a?"

"Sí por favor."

"Uh, Mimi, what exactly are you saying?" Roger asked.

"I asked her if she speaks English," Mimi explained.

"You children don't understand Spanish very well, do you?" Ángela asked rhetorically, chuckling. "What can I do for you?"

"We were told to bring Angel his homework and stuff." Tom said. "Um, is he here?"

"Yes he is. Why don't you come inside and I'll get him for you?" Ángela suggested. The friends nodded and followed Ángela into the house.

¡"Ángel! ¡Hay algunas personas que aquí abajo le buscan!" Ángela called.

¡"Bien! ¡Vengo!" Angel called back.

"Come into the livingroom, niños. Ángel will be down in a moment," Ángela said, leading the middle schoolers to the livingroom. A minute later, Angel appeared in the livingroom wrapped in a blanket.

"Hi guys," he said, sitting on the couch next to Tom.

"¡Nieto de calidad! You're going to burn up in that thing!" Ángela said. She the lowered her voice to a whisper.¿"Puede todavía usted ver las contusiones, amor?" Mimi's eyes widened. She'd just barely heard what Ángela had asked and it worried her.

¿"Contusiones?" she whispered to herself.

"No," Angel replied. Ángela nodded. "So, why'd you guys come here?"

"Mr. Smee wanted someone to bring you your homework," Tom said.

"So, we all came," Mark added.

"I don't think now was such a good time," Angel said, eyeing the doorway of the livingroom.

"Why not?" Maureen asked.

"Cause my-" The front door opened and shut before Angel could finish his sentence. Adán appeared in the doorway a minute later. His normal facial expression turned into a scowl in three seconds flat.

"Who are all these kids?" he asked.

"There friends of Ángel's. They came to give him his homework," Ángela explained.

"Who invited them in without my permission?"

"Well I-"

"I did," Angel interrupted. "I thought it would be okay."

"I want them gone. Now," Adán said sternly. April, Mark, Roger, Maureen, and Joanne all left hurriedly. Adán glared at Tom and Mimi. "What are you two waiting for, huh?"

"The principal told Tom and I to help Angel with his homework," Mimi said quickly.

"Well, you're going to have to wait a while," Adán said, grabbing Angel by his arm and pulling him out of his blanket revealing that he was wearing jeans and a long sleeved shirt. "You and I are going to have a little talk." As Adán dragged Angel out of the room and Ángela followed, Tom turned to Mimi.

"You just lied to a very scary man," he said.

"What do you mean?" Mimi asked.

"Mr. Smee didn't tell us to help Angel with his homework."

"I had to make something up in order to stay. Didn't you hear what Angel's grandma said?"

"I heard it, but I didn't understand it."

"She asked him if the bruises could be seen."

"Bruises? What bruises?"

"That's what I wanna figure out. I also wanted to show Angel this picture." Mimi took a picture from her pants pocket and gave it to Tom.

"Who's this and where'd you get it?" Tom asked, looking at the woman in the picture.

"It might be the lady we found at the park. I went back yesterday cause I forgot my book so I decided to look for some sort of identification of the lady and I found her wallet with that picture in it," Mimi explained. "Who does it look like to you?" Tom studied the picture for a few seconds before his eyes widened.

"She looks like . . ." A loud cry of pain stopped Tom in mid-sentence.

"Angel!" Mimi yelled. She and Tom ran to the kitchen and saw Angel trying to crawl away from Adán, who caught him and picked him up.

"Adán, please!" Ángela cried. Without giving it a second thought, Adán threw Angel into a wall.

_**CRACK!**_

Angel landed on the floor and started to cry while holding his arm as Tom and Mimi ran to him.

"Angel, what's goin' on?" he asked, trying to see if Angel's arm was okay.

"Don't touch it!" Angel screamed, tears streaming down his face.

"It could be broken," Mimi said.

"Get the hell away from him!" Adán yelled, coming toward the three kids.

"Go anywhere near them and I'll do what I should've done a long time ago!" Ángela said, stopping Adán from going any further by holding a kitchen knife to his neck. "You two, take Ángel out to the car and wait for me there." Tom and Mimi nodded and helped Angel outside. "If you even think about moving from that spot, one of us is going to jail." With that said, Ángela walked outside to drive her beloved grandson to the hospital, leaving a dumbfounded Adán standing in the kitchen.

**Okay! That's another chappy done! You know, my grandparents don't drive anymore, but I know some elderly people do. So that's why Ángela drives! GO OLD PEOPLE! Anyway, I was thinking about killing** **Adán off right there, but then I was like "I can't do that! I might need him later!" That's why he didn't die. Although I was **_**really **_**tempted to kill him. Mistakes are the fault of my keyboard cause I'm tired of blaming my fingers. Review please! :)**

**Translations****:**

"**Madre de Dios." - "Mother of God."**

"**Hola niños." - "Hello children."**

"**Hola señora." - "Hello ma'am."**

**¿"Señora, Habla Usted inglés?" - "Ma'am, do you speak English?"**

"**Sí. ¿Me quisiera usted a?" - "Yes. Would you like me to?"**

"**Sí por favor." - "Yes please."**

**¡"Ángel! ¡Hay algunas personas que aquí abajo le buscan!" - "Angel! There are some people down here looking for you!"**

**¡"Bien! ¡Vengo!" - "Okay! I'm coming!"**

"**¡Nieto de calidad!" - "Goodness grandson!"**

"**¿Puede todavía usted ver las contusiones, amor?" - "Can you still see the bruises, sweetheart?"**

"**¿Contusiones?" - "Bruises?"**


	11. Rescuing An Angel

**Hi ya'll! I was totally gonna update this sooner, but then my computater-tot crashed and burned. What a sad week that was! Okay, if you were paying attention in the last chapter you'd know that Tom had to go to Mr. Smee's house and do chores so only Mimi goes to the hospital. Mkay? Mkay. This chappy is about the third day of school and the first weekend.**

**I own nothing. The Almighty Larson owns it all.**

Tom watched Angel, his right arm in a sling, approach his locker and open it slowly.He stared at Angel's arm as he tried to get a book from the top of his locker.

"Is it broken?" Tom asked in a concerned voice. Angel shook his head.

"No. It's sprained. The doctor said I got lucky," he replied, still trying to use his left hand to grab his book.

"You need some help?"

"No thanks. I can do it." Angel began pulling the book.

"You sure?"

"Positive." Angel pulled on the book even more as Tom slowly raised his hand to try and help. "No! Let me do it!" Tom put his hand down and after about seven more seconds of Angel pulling on the book, raised it again. "Tom, I can do it myself!"

"I just don't want you to get hurt," Tom said in his defense.

"I'm. Not. Gonna. Get. Hurt," Angel replied, tugging the book with every word. Suddenly, the book, apparently crammed between two other books, slipped out of Angel's locker causing the books it was between to fall , nearly hitting him.

"That's why I wanted to help you," Tom said.

"I didn't need your help," Angel responded as Tom bent down to pick up the books that had fallen. "I can do that you know."

"I know, but I wanna help."

"But I can do it myself."

"Why are you so independent all of a sudden?"

"I just don't wanna be a burden."

"You're not a burden. It's okay to let people do things for you."

"I guess you're right. I'm gonna need all the help I can get now. With my arm being sprained and all."

"Speaking of that, why'd your uncle . . .?"

"I'm gonna be late for 1st period. I gotta go," Angel interrupted. Tom watched Angel leave before heading to first period himself.

Since the teacher was always late, Tom's classmates were all up and talking. Tom walked over to his seat, right next to Mimi, and saw she had her head down. He tapped her on the shoulder.

"Mimi?" he said, still tapping her. "Mimi?" He sat down, lifted her head up, and realized she'd been crying. "Meems, what's wrong?"

"Angel . . ." was all Mimi could manage before she start crying again. Tom pulled her into a hug.

"Shh. Don't cry," he soothed. "What about Angel?"

"His uncle . . . he beat him . . . right in front of me," Mimi whispered. Tom broke the hug and stared into Mimi's tear-filled eyes.

"What?" he said in shock.

"I-I was so scared. I didn't know what to do."

"So you didn't do anything?"

"I begged him to stop, but he just hit Angel even harder. Then I threatened to call the police."

"And?"

"He said if I did he'd kill me. Then he kicked me out."

"You left Angel in that house knowing what could happen to him?" There was a hint of anger in Tom's voice.

"What was I supposed to do? Wait and get killed?"

"Did you at least tell someone?"

"I wanted to, but I couldn't. I was too scared."

"Did _he _tell anyone?" Mimi shook her head. "Not even the doctors? I'm sure they asked him what happened."

"He said he fell down the stairs."

"What!?"

"That's what I said before Angel's grandma told me to keep quiet."

"She didn't tell anyone either?" Mimi shook her head again. "I've gotta do something."

"Are you crazy!? Don't get in the middle of this! You could get killed!"

"I don't care. As long as Angel's okay I don't care."

"What are you gonna do?"

"I don't know yet." Tom put his head down as the teacher entered the classroom with his usual "sorry I'm late" routine. Tom paid attention for the first five minutes of class and for the rest of the period thought of a plan to help Angel.

And when Friday night came, he'd put his plan into action.

* * *

Tom laid in his bed and stared at the ceiling for half the night before getting up and tiptoeing to his brother's room. There, he approached the bed and shook his 16-year-old brother until he woke up.

"Whatever it is, wait til the morning. That way I can say 'hell no' fully awake," his brother said, rolling over and closing his eyes.

"James, please. I need your help," Tom said. James sighed and turned to face his little brother.

"What the hell do you want at 12:30 in the fucking morning?" he asked angrily.

"I need you to drive me to a friend's house." James stared at him for a moment.

"For the answer, you must answer a question," he said.

"Oh, come on," Tom said.

"Alright then." James closed his eyes.

"Fine. What is it?" Tom asked.

"I knew you'd see it my way," James said, opening his eyes. "How long did the Hundred Years War last?"

"116 years. Why'd you ask me that?"

"I just wanted to see if you knew."

"Well, I do. So are you gonna give me a ride or not?"

"Nope."

"James please! It's an emergency! My boyfriend's life is at stake!" James sat up.

"Boyfriend?" he repeated. "I thought _I _was the only one with a boyfriend around here." Tom's eyes widened. It was normal for James to have a different boyfriend or girlfriend every two weeks, but not for him.

"Forget I said that. Just take me where I need to go," he said.

"Uh uh. Not til you tell me about this boyfriend of yours."

"James, can we not do this now?"

"It's now, or you get no ride."

"Fine. His name's Angel, he's in the 6th grade, he's Dominican, and he's abused."

"Abused? How and by who?"

"Physically and by his uncle. That's why you gotta give me a ride. I'm worried about him."

"Aw. Ain't that cute? My lil' brother's first relationship."

"Will you just give me a ride?"

"Alright, but only cause there's child abuse involved. Did you tell dad?"

"No. I'm not supposed to tell a cop. You're probably not even supposed to know."

"Did he tell anyone?"

"No." James shook his head, got out of his bed, and put his shoes on. He and Tom then quietly went downstairs and to his car.

Once they arrived at Angel's house, they found a ladder in the back yard and put it up to Angel's bedroom window. James held the ladder in place and Tom climbed up it. He peered into the window and saw Angel sleeping, his arm wrapped in an ace bandage

_He's even cute when he's asleep_, he thought.

"Hey! Hurry your ass up! You know dad comes home at random hours of the night!" James called up to him. Tom tapped on the window and Angel slowly opened his eyes. When he was fully awake and he saw Tom at his window, his eyes widened.

"Tom?" he said to himself, opening the window with one hand. "Tom, what are you doing here?"

"I can't let you stay here. Not knowing what I know now," Tom said.

"What _do _you know?"

"Mimi, told me what your uncle did to you."

"She wasn't supposed to say anything!"

"Well she did. Angel, come with me. Please."

"I can't."

"Yes you can. I don't want you to get hurt again."

"You don't understand."

"Angel, your uncle hits you for no damn reason! Your own flesh and blood!"

"I know. I don't like it anymore than you do, but I can't leave my abuelita alone."

"Ángel, I'll be fine," Angel heard Ángela's voice say as she entered the room. "I happen to think Tom's idea of you staying with him is brilliant." Angel started to protest, but Ángela continued speaking. "I can handle Adán, nieto. You just go, okay?"

"But . . ." Ángela stopped Angel from speaking by putting a hand on his shoulder. "Yes ma'am." Angel then packed a small bag before giving Ángela a kiss on the cheek and allowing Tom to help him out the window.

Back at his house, Tom gave a relieved sigh to see Ed hadn't returned yet. His relief only lasted a brief moment before he, James, and Angel heard a car door shut.

"That's gotta be dad and this is the part where you get your ass kicked," James said to Tom. "Good night!" He then disappeared to his room as Tom led Angel into the livingroom to hide behind the couch before returning to the kitchen. Ed walked into the kitchen and scowled at his son.

"What the hell are you doin' up?" he asked.

"Gettin' somethin' to drink," Tom lied. Ed nodded and headed toward the livingroom. Tom panicked and followed him as he sat on the couch.

"What do you want?" Ed asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Um . . . how was work? Get any new cases?" Tom asked, pretending to be interested in his dad's job. Ed gave him a strange look.

"Whatever you broke, fix it," he said, standing up to put his bag behind the couch.

"Dad, let me do that!" Tom offered.

"I'm capable of putting my own bag down. Thank you though," Ed replied, glancing behind the couch and seeing a frightened Angel staring up at him. He turned back to Tom. "Thomas?"

_Uh oh. Whole first name. Not good! _Tom thought.

"Yeah dad?"

"Why is there a scared little Hispanic boy hidin' behind the couch?"

"Uh . . . cause if he was in the fridge that'd be just weird." Ed glared at Tom.

"I want the truth, boy," he demanded as Angel rose from behind the couch.

"Okay. The truth is . . ." Tom glanced at Angel before continuing, "he lives in the park and barely has enough to eat and I thought he should stay somewhere safer so I had James drive me to the park to find him and then offered to let him stay here." Ed looked at him skeptically.

"There are a lot of things I find odd about that story and I would like to point them out. However, I am tired as hell and also frustrated because of my job. So, here's the plan. I'm going to go to sleep and tomorrow morning when you come home from Saturday school, you, me, and this little boy are going to have a long talk about the truth. And if you think I won't use my interrogating methods on you, you're sadly mistaken. Now take your friend upstairs and **GO TO BED!**" Tom immediately grabbed Angel's hand, ran upstairs to his room, and, for the rest of the night, thought about facing the wrath of his father the next day.

**I watched a Law & Order marathon (and taped it all) on Sunday and the very first episode was when Ed got shot. God! That brought tears to my eyes. And when they showed that episode of Trial by Jury where he was in the hospital and he said, "Hey Joe," it hit a spot in my heart to see him so helpless and things. Poor Eddie! :( Anyways, review please and Ed Green will your best friend to protect you from the monsters that you know are still under your bed. **


	12. The Many Truths Of The Night

**Soooo . . . I haven't updated anything in a ****_really _****long time. Since this is the first thing I saw, I wrote this chapter. Other things (coughcoughi'llcoveryoucoughcough) will be updated ASAP. Kay? Kay. Read and enjoy.**

**I own nothing. The Almighty Larson owns it all.**

"Your dad seems _really _mad, Tom," Angel said, sitting on Tom's bed watching him pace back and forth. "You gonna do that all night?"

"Just until I come up with a good lie," Tom replied, still pacing.

"Why do you have to lie?"

"Cause you said nobody's supposed to know what your uncle does to you."

"That's cause it's true. Cops especially can't know."

"Exactly my point. My dad's a cop. And if he wants to know somethin', he'll figure it out. Trust me." Tom's bedroom door suddenly flew open and Anita, followed by Ed, walked in.

"See?" Ed said, gesturing toward Angel.

"What's his name and why is he here?" Anita asked.

"I don't know, but I'm going to have a serious talk with our son." Tom felt like crawling under his bed and never coming out. "But before I do, what _is _your name?"

"A-Angel," Angel said, quietly.

"Well, Angel, I need to talk to Tom alone so if you could leave the room for a moment . . ." Ed took Angel by his left arm and he winced.

"Ed, I think you're hurting him," Anita said. Ed removed his hand from Angel's arm, lifted his sleeve, and noticed several bruises on his forearm. "Oh my God. What happened to you, sweetheart?"

"I . . . fell," Angel lied. Anita inspected Angel's arm.

"It looks like you did more than just fall," she said.

"Anita, why don't you take care of Angel's bruises while I talk with Tom," Ed said, not taking his eyes off of Tom for even a second.

"Come on Angel," Anita said leading Angel to the door. Once they were walking down the hall, Ed shut and locked Tom's bedroom door.

"Tom, you have five seconds to explain why you snuck that boy into the house," Ed said, a hint of anger in his voice.

"Well, I-" Tom started.

"Times up!" Ed interrupted. "What the hell were you thinking!?"

"I was-"

"That's just it! You _weren't _thinking!"

"Dad!"

**"WHAT!?" **

"I have a good reason for why I snuck Angel in here."

"Then tell me. And I want the truth."

"Okay." Tom took a deep breath. "The truth is . . . I can't tell you the truth." Ed scowled at his son.

"And _why _can't you tell me the truth?" he asked.

"Well, let's say Angel's physical being is at stake and leave it at that," Tom replied almost in a whisper. Ed stared at his son for a moment.

"'Physical being?'" he repeated. "As in, he was threatened by someone?"

"I didn't say that."

"But it was implied." Ed started to pace. "Meaning, if you can't tell me the truth, you _still_ want me to know it. Otherwise you wouldn't have implied that Angel could be harmed if I _did _know the truth." He stopped pacing and faced Tom. "Is that about right?"

"You just put words I didn't say into my mouth."

"No, I didn't. I took words that you're afraid to say _out_ of your mouth. There's a difference."

"Dad, when I say I can't tell you the truth, I mean I really _can't _tell you the truth. The information I have could kill someone if I gave it to you."

"'Kill someone?'"

Tom looked at the floor. "Forget it."

"Tom-" Ed started before both he and Tom heard Angel scream in pain. Tom immediately ran to his parents' room, Ed following, where Anita was trying to get Angel from under the bed.

"Angel, you have to let me see-" Anita started, tears forming in her eyes.

"It's nothing!" Angel interrupted.

"Mom, what'd you do to him?" Tom asked.

"Well, I touched his back and he jumped," Anita said, about to cry as Angel crawled from under the bed. "So, I lifted up his shirt to see what was wrong and I saw a giant red mark . . . that looked like the bottom of an iron. I touched it very lightly and he screamed . . . it had to happen recently." Ed's eyes shifted to Angel, who was clutching Tom's hand. He immediately dropped his hand when he saw that Ed was looking at him.

"Angel-" Ed began.

"I already said it's nothing!" Angel interrupted.

"Anita, Tom, leave the room," Ed told his wife and son.

Anita grabbed Tom's hand, but he pulled away. "No," he said. Ed turned to Tom slowly.

"What did you just say?" he asked.

"I'm not leavin'."

"Oh yes you are."

"No, I'm not. I wanna stay here with Angel."

"I don't care what the hell _you _wanna do. _I'm _tellin' you to leave the room and that's what I mean."

"I'm stayin'." Ed walked toward Tom.

"Leave before I do somethin' I'd _really _hate to do," he demanded.

"You can tell me a million times to get out, but I'll still be here," Tom said.

"Tom, sweetie, your father isn't in the mood for this right now. He's already mad so let's go before he gets pissed," Anita warned.

"I don't care what he's not in the mood for. I'm stayin' and that's th-" Tom was interrupted by Ed's open hand making contact with his face. His tear-filled eyes then met his dad's rage-filled ones before he was grabbed by his shirt collar.

"Ed! Calm down!" Anita pleaded.

"Mr. Collins, p-please don't hurt him," Angel said. Ed finally realized what he was doing and let go of Tom, who backed away from him.

"Tom . . . son, come here," Ed said, walking toward his son. Tom shook his head and backed away even further. "Tom-"

"You hit me!" Tom interrupted. "You said you didn't believe in parents hitting their kids!"

"Son, let me explain, okay?" A tear rolled down Tom's cheek as he ran back to his room. "Tom!" Ed sighed and ran a hand over his face when he heard Tom's door slam shut.

"I'll go talk to him," Anita said. She then left the room, leaving Ed to talk to Angel alone.

"I know you didn't mean to hit him," Angel said to Ed, sitting down on the bed. "You didn't, did you?"

"Of course I didn't," Ed replied, sitting next to Angel. "It was an accident, but what's happened to _you_ is no accident." Angel looked at the ground. "Angel, I can only assume what happens to you, in what's supposed to be, the safety of your own home, but you know exactly what happens. So, can you tell me?"

"There's nothing to tell," Angel said, still looking at the ground. Ed lifted his head.

"This person threatened you, didn't they?" he asked. Angel nodded. "Told you that these beatings were for your own good." Angel nodded again. "And that if anyone outside the household knew what was happening, you'd be killed."

"How do you know all this?" Angel asked. "Is it a cop thing?"

"No. It's a parent thing." Ed thought for a moment. "Are your parents doing this to you?"

"I don't live with my parents. I live with my grandma and my uncle. I wish it was just me and my abuelita though."

"Your uncle's the one who harms you, isn't he?" Angel nodded. "Do you know why?"

"It's cause I-" Angel stopped himself in mid-sentence.

"Cause you . . . what?" Ed asked.

"C-Cause . . . I like boys . . . instead of girls."

"He beats you because of your sexual orientation?" Angel gave him a confused look. "Because you're gay."

"Yeah. And it's gotten even worse since I started middle school cause he knew that I'd end up having a crush on someone and obviously date him. I knew that too, but I didn't expect to fall in love. _And _I don't even know Tom loves me back and-"

"Okay, I get it. You're gay and your uncle is a homoph-" Ed's eyes widened. "Tom who?"

_Oh crap! _Angel thought.

"Um . . . Tom . . . uh-"

"Don't lie to me," Ed interrupted. Angel sighed.

"Okay. It's Tom Collins," he said. Ed was silent. "Mr. Collins? You okay?"

"How many boys do you know that have the name Tom Collins?" Ed asked.

"One. And he's your son."

"My son?" Angel nodded. "You're dating _my _son?" Angel nodded again. Ed suddenly got up and walked out of the room. Afraid that he'd gotten Tom into more trouble, Angel followed him. They both found Anita standing and facing the closet.

"Tom, honey, come out of there, please," she said.

"NO!" Tom yelled, from inside the closet.

Anita sighed and turned to her husband. "Ed, our son's in the closet."

_You have no idea_, Ed thought as he walked over to the closet. "Tom?" he said. "Come out of there."

"NO!" Tom yelled.

"Tom-"

"I'M NOT COMIN' OUT!"

"Can I ask why?"

"YOU KNOW WHY!"

"He's still upset about you hitting him," Anita said.

"I lost my temper," Ed said in his defense. "It was an accident, Anita."

"I know it was an accident. And I've been trying to explain that to Tom, but he won't come out of his closet."

"AND I NEVER WILL!" Tom added. James suddenly appeared in the doorway.

"What's with all the yelling?" he asked. "I'm trying to get some sleep."

"You wanna sleep, get your brother to come out of the closet," Anita told him. James sniggered and then full out laughed, earning himself a smack in the back of the head from Ed.

"Ow!" he exclaimed. "What was that for?"

"For bein' an idiot," Ed replied.

"TELL HIM TO GET OUTTA MY ROOM!" Tom yelled.

"Why don't you come out here and make me?" James challenged.

"Will you leave him alone?" Ed asked angrily.

"Ed, let's not start anything else tonight," Anita said.

"Shut up! I'm handling somethin'!"

"Did you just tell me to shut up?" Anita, Ed, and James all started arguing as Angel walked over to the closet.

"Tom? You gonna come outta there anytime soon?" he asked.

"Don't count on it," Tom said, not yelling for the first time.

"Then I'm coming in." Angel opened the closet door and slipped inside, where Tom was holding a flashlight so he could see. "Tom, your dad didn't mean to hit you."

"I know."

"Then why are you in here?"

"I got scared. He's been mad at me before, but not mad enough to hit me."

"He said he's really sorry."

"I don't care. I'm stayin' in here. Forever."

"You don't care about what he says?"

"No."

"Do you care about _me_?" There was a silence.

"Yeah," Tom said.

"Then prove it." Angel held out his hand and Tom grabbed it before turning the flashlight off. Angel then led him out of the closet.

"Well, well, well," James said. "Look who's decided to join us." Ed smacked him in the head again. "Ow! Will you stop that!?"

"Go to bed," Ed told him. James obeyed his father. "Actually I think we should all go to bed."

"That's a good idea," Anita agreed, starting to leave the room. "Ed, you comin' to bed?"

"In a minute." Anita nodded and kissed Ed goodnight. She then left the room. "Tom, I think now would be the best time to tell you that whoever you have a crush on or are dating has very strong feelings for you." Angel blushed, still holding Tom's hand.

"What do you me-" Tom started.

"I know about you and Angel," Ed interrupted.

"How!? Who told you!?" Tom asked in shock.

"Angel did actually." Angel blushed even more.

"Dad, I can explain," Tom said.

"It's okay. You don't have to explain anything to me."

"I don't?"

"No. It's your mother that you need to watch out for."

"I know."

"Eddie! I'm getting lonely!" Anita called. Angel and Tom giggled as Ed rolled his eyes.

"Be there in a minute!" he called back. "So, am I goin' all the way to the basement to get the spare mattress and put it on the floor or what?"

"I think we'll be okay," Tom replied.

"Yeah. We can just share," Angel added.

"Alright then. Go ahead and share, but _no sex_," Ed said.

"EW!" Tom and Angel said at the same time.

"I'm just layin' down the law," Ed explained, chuckling.

"That's a law you didn't have to lay down," Angel said.

"Yeah, dad. That's disgusting," Tom added.

"You won't be sayin' that when you're older," Ed replied quietly. "Well, goodnight." He then left the room as Tom pulled back the covers on his bed and climbed in it.

"Come on," he told Angel. "I don't bite." Angel carefully climbed into the bed and laid down next to Tom.

"Tom?" Angel whispered a few moments later.

"Yeah?" Tom whispered back.

"What if I have nightmares?"

"Um . . . what does your grandma do when you have nightmares?"

"She wraps her arms around me and I usually fall asleep in them. Why?" Tom slowly wrapped his arms around Angel and pulled him closer. "Oh." Angel then started to drift off.

"You okay now?" Tom asked. He received no answer. "Angel?" He turned Angel slightly, saw that he was asleep, smiled, and lowered his voice to a whisper. "Goodnight Angel. I love you." He then kissed Angel's cheek and let his eyes close.

**Well, I guess that was a decent length. Review please!**


	13. The Trouble With Saturday School

**Okay. I haven't updated this story in a while. I think I owe it to you guys not to ignore it. So, I am updating! Be happy. Oh and to all those wondering about the principal's name, yeah . . . around the 3rd chapter of this story I had just watched Peter Pan. That's all I'm saying.**

**I own nothing. The Almighty Larson owns it all.**

Tom sat a desk in the middle of the empty classroom with a smile on his face. Last night he'd told Angel he loved him, but he wasn't sure he heard. So he made up his mind to tell him when he was awake. He couldn't wait for Saturday school to be over. The classroom door opened and Mr. Smee walked in.

"You made it," Mr. Smee said, smiling sadistically.

"Like I could ever stand you up on this lovely date," Tom replied, smiling as well. Mr. Smee's smile faded.

"Now is not the time for joking," he scolded.

"Who said I was joking?" Tom batted his eyelashes.

"I'm serious." Mr. Smee was now at the front of Tom's desk.

"So am I." Tom grabbed the principal's hand and looked up at him, still batting his eyelashes. Mr. Smee snatched his hand away.

"Just sit there and shut up," he told Tom.

"Anything to please you," Tom said, resting his chin on his hands. There was a silence for about five minutes. "So . . . how's the wife?"

"I don't have a wife." Tom's mouth dropped open. "What's the matter with you?"

"You don't have a wife?" Tom asked, pretending to be shocked. "I never would've guessed."

"Is it so hard for you to be quiet?"

"If I'm bored, yes." Mr. Smee thought for a moment and then left the room. Tom drummed his fingers on his desk while he waited for the principal to return. After five minutes of waiting, Tom went through the drawers of the front desk that Mr. Smee was sitting at and found a screwdriver. A huge grin spread across his face and he loosened all of the screws in the chair just enough for even the slightest nudge to cause it to collapse. He quickly put the screwdriver back in the drawer he'd found it in, ran back to his desk, and sat down. Mr. Smee then returned with two thin booklets in his hand. "Missed you."

"I'm sure you did," Mr. Smee replied, approaching Tom and placing the booklets side by side on his desk. Tom eyed both of them suspiciously.

"What're these for?" he asked.

"One is test booklet and the other is an answer booklet."

"You want me to not only give up valuable time of my Saturday, but also take a test?"

"Yes."

"What kind of sick, twisted thing lives in your head!?"

"Stop being so dramatic. This is a test to see if you belong here or in 9th grade." Tom flipped through the test booklet.

"These don't look like 9th grade questions," he pointed out.

"That's because it's a 10th grade test," Mr. Smee explained. "It's worth 700 points."

"700 points!?"

"Yes." Mr. Smee took a pencil from his shirt pocket and gave it to Tom. "Get started." He then walked back to the front desk, sat down, and fell to the floor, causing Tom to burst into a fit of laughter.

"YOU SHOULD'VE SEEN THE LOOK ON YOUR FACE!" Tom exclaimed, holding his sides as he watched the furious principal get back to his feet.

"Just take the test," Mr. Smee growled.

**Fifteen Minutes Later . . .**

"Mr. Smee?" Tom said.

"What is it?" Mr. Smee replied, leaning on the front desk.

"The pencil broke."

"Well, sharpen it."

"Can't you just give me another one?"

"No."

"But it'll take less time."

"Just sharpen the thing!"

**Another Fifteen Minutes Later . . .**

"Mr. Smee?" Tom said.

"What is it now?" Mr. Smee replied, getting irritated.

"Can I go to the bathroom?"

"It's 'may I' not 'can I.'" There was a silence.

"So, is that a no?"

"Just go."

**Yet Another Fifteen Minutes Later . . .**

"Mr. Sm-" Tom started.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT NOW!?" Mr. Smee yelled.

"Well, if you're gonna be rude about it, never mind." Mr. Smee sighed as his cell phone rang. He took it out of his pocket. "Ooh! You're not supposed to have that in school! You'll get in trouble!"

"Finish your test," Mr. Smee instructed as he left the room to answer his call.

About an hour later, Tom had finished the test, but Mr. Smee hadn't returned. He got up and walked out of the room to look for him, both booklets in hand.

"Mr. Smeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" he called, walking down the hallway. "Where are yooooooooooooooooooou?"

"You damn idiot!" Tom heard Mr. Smee's voice say from his office. He tiptoed over to the door, pressed his ear against it, and listened. "How is it possible to lose an entire person!? She shouldn't be that hard to find! She's dead for Christ's sake!" Tom's eyes widened as he continued to listen. "The police took the body? Well, who's on the case?" There was a silence. "Ed Collins, huh? What do you mean what do I want you to do about him!? Get rid of him! Kill him if you have to! Wait . . . I have a better idea." There was another silence. "His son's with me right now. Just let me handle this, okay?" Tom gasped loudly. "I'll call you back." The office door flew open and Tom fell to the ground.

"Ow," he said, picking himself up. He then noticed Mr. Smee was glaring at him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I-I'm f-finished." Tom gave both booklets to Mr. Smee with a trembling hand. "C-Can I g-go home n-now?"

"How much of that did you hear?"

"How much of what?"

"Don't play dumb with me!" Mr. Smee came closer to Tom and he backed up. "What did you hear!?" Mr. Smee had Tom backed into a corner. "ANSWER ME!" Tom ran around him.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" he screamed, running as fast as his legs could carry him.

"GET BACK HERE!" Mr. Smee demanded, chasing after the frightened twelve-year-old. Tom glanced behind him to see how far Mr. Smee was, ran into someone, and fell backward. He then looked up at the tall stranger with fear in his eyes. The stranger picked him up and put him over his shoulder as Mr. Smee approached him, slightly out of breath. "Good . . . you caught him." The stranger said nothing, turned, and started running, still holding Tom over his shoulder.

"Let me go!" Tom demanded, pounding his fists on the stranger's back. "My dad's a cop! He'll send the entire NYPD after you!" The stranger stopped running once he had Tom in an alley between two buildings a block away from the school. He stood still for a moment before he heard Tom crying. "What're you gonna do with me?" Tom was placed on the ground.

"Help," the stranger said in an accent that Tom had never heard before.

"You . . . want me to help you?" Tom asked, tears still streaming down his face.

"No. I help _you_." The stranger touched one of Tom's cheeks and felt the tears. "Why are you crying?"

"I'm . . . scared."

"Scared of me?" Tom gave a slight nod. "Why? I am not scary." Tom's eyes widened.

"But . . . aren't you workin' for Mr. Smee?" he asked in confusion.

"Not if he is going to harm an innocent child," the stranger replied.

"What's he plannin' to do?"

"I cannot tell you that."

"Why not?"

"I do not want you and your friends in any danger."

"My friends? How do you know about my friends?"

"I've been watching you all."

"Why? That seems a little creepy."

"I was only trying to protect you from . . ." The stranger broke off.

"From what?" Tom pushed.

"He calls himself The Man," the stranger told him. "I am supposed to help get rid of . . . can you keep a secret?" Tom nodded. "The Man and Leslie-"

"Who's Leslie?" Tom interrupted.

"That is Mr. Smee's first name." Tom sniggered. "That was my reaction as well. Anyway, he and The Man are working together to get rid of a body."

"A body? Who's body?"

"I believe her name was Amelia Schunard."

_Schunard?_ Tom thought. _That's Angel's last name._ "Did she have any relatives?" he asked, getting nervous.

"A husband and a son," the stranger told him.

_NO!_ Tom's mind screamed. "Do you know . . . who killed her?" he asked.

"You already know too much," the stranger said. "Now I must take you home."

"But-" Tom started.

"If I do not take you home right away, you could be hurt," the stranger interrupted. He then grabbed Tom's hand.

_I gotta get everybody together_, Tom thought as he was pulled along. _Angel's not gonna like this._

**Bet ya didn't see that one coming. Did ya? Do you know who the killer is? If you think you know, you have no idea. Only I know for sure. Mwhaha!**

**Review please.**


	14. Homeless Hero

**Next chapter. :-D**

**I own nothing. The Almighty Larson owns it all.**

"What do you mean he wasn't at the school?" Anita asked James. She'd sent him to Tom's school to pick him up . . . only he returned without him.

"I went in, went to the principal's office, asked where he was, and the principal told me he left," James replied. "So I went to Central Park to look for him, but he wasn't there either."

"Why would he leave? I told him to wait for you."

"I don't know what goes on in his head." Anita looked like she was about to have a nervous breakdown. "You okay, ma?" Anita shook her head as the phone rang. Angel then walked into the livingroom with the phone on his shoulder.

"Mrs. Collins, it's Mr. Collins," he told Anita. "He said he might be a little late cause-"

"Give me the phone," Anita interrupted.

"Okay, hold on." Angel put the phone on his ear. "She wants to talk to you." He gave the phone to Anita and sat next to James.

"Ed?" Anita said into the phone, her voice shaking slightly.

_"What's wrong?" _Ed asked her concernedly.

"Is Tom with you?"

_"No."_

"Ed, when you call home while you're working and I ask you if our youngest son is with you, you're supposed to say he is to calm me down."

_"Tom's not at the house?"_

"No." Anita took a deep breath. "I sent James to pick him up from Saturday school, but the principal said he left."

_"When was this?"_

"I sent James to the school half an hour ago. He was looking for Tom at Central Park so he just got back. Ed . . . I'm scared. He knows his way here and if someone doesn't pick him up he usually just walks, but this is different, Ed. This time he didn't come home."

_"Calm down. I'll try to come home in an hour or two."_

"Something could happen to him in an hour or two, Ed."

_"Don't say that."_

"It's true!"

_"Just . . . look for him in any place you think he'd be and I'll do my best to get home earlier. Okay?"_

"Okay." Anita hung up the phone and stood up. "James, Angel, come on."

**

* * *

**

"So, what's your name?" Tom asked the stranger.

"Pierre Devoncroix," the stranger replied.

"Pierre what?" Pierre laughed.

"Devoncroix. It's my last name."

"So your name is Pierre Devon . . . croix?"

"Yes."

"That's another language, right?"

"Yes, it's French."

"You're French?"

"Yes. I thought you would have figured that out by now."

"Well, I've never met anyone with a French accent before."

"Now you have, Tom." Tom stopped walking. "Your name is Tom, right? Tom Collins?"

"Yeah, but how'd you know?" Tom asked in shock.

"I told you. I have been watching you and your friends."

"That's still creepy."

"I am not a creepy person, though." Pierre and Tom started walking again.

"So, why are you working for Mr. Smee?"

"I need the money."

"I thought French people had a lot of money."

"Most do. I actually have very little money. I live in Central Park."

"I'm there every day. Is that why you started watching me?"

"I started watching you because I really wanted to perfect my English."

"Perfect your English?"

"Mostly lose my accent. That is not going so well for me."

"I can tell." There was a silence as Tom's house came into view. "Wait . . . how do you know where I live?"

"I told you already."

"Oh yeah. You've been watching me."

"Correct."

"You can come in for somethin' to eat. I'm sure my parents won't mind."

"I am sure they will."

"But you're homeless. Most homeless people would jump at the chance to get a hot meal."

"It is alright. I will survive." Tom grabbed Pierre's hand.

"No, I'm payin' you back for savin' me. And you can expect a plate of food every day now."

"That is a bit . . . unnecessary." Tom led Pierre into his house. "Oh my."

"It's nice, huh?"

"Very nice."

"Come on. The kitchen's this way." Tom pulled Pierre into the kitchen and sat him in one of the chairs around the table. "I can't cook, but we have Captain Crunch." Pierre laughed as car doors were opened and shut outside the house.

"Your family will not want me here," Pierre said, standing up. "I should go."

"But-" Tom started.

"Goodbye, Tom," Pierre interrupted. He then left the kitchen and went out the back door as the front door opened.

"I'm sure he'll turn up soon," Tom heard Ed's voice say.

"Where could he be?" Anita asked rhetorically. Tom came out of the kitchen.

"Where could who be?" he asked. Anita immediately pulled him into a bone-crushing hug.

"My baby!" she exclaimed.

"Mom! Can't . . . breathe!" Tom said. Anita released him.

"Where were you?" Ed demanded.

"I-" Tom started.

"Isn't the fact that he's okay the important thing?" Angel interrupted.

"Angel's right," Anita said. "Ed, interrogate him later."

"Can Angel and I go to the park?" Tom asked.

"Be back here in an hour," Ed said.

"Two hours."

"An hour and a half."

"Done." Tom ran to the kitchen, got an apple, a half of a ham, and two bottles of water. He then quickly put the food in a bag and pulled Angel out of the house, avoiding questioning.

"What's with the bag?" Angel asked.

"You'll see," Tom told him.

**

* * *

**

"So, what's so important that you had to drag me away from my cartoons?" Maureen asked Tom.

"More information on the lady," Tom replied.

"The dead lady?" Roger asked.

"Duh."

"Let's hear it," Mimi said.

"Get this, Mr. Smee's in on her murder," Tom said.

"Mr. Smee?" April asked. "As in our principal?"

"Yeah."

"I'll never feel safe at school again," Mark said. "By the way, what's with the bag, Tom?"

"It's for a friend," Tom replied. "You guys wanna help me find him?"

"Sure!" Maureen said. "I love finding people!" The middle schoolers went further and further into the park before Mark saw a person sitting by a small fire.

"Hey, I found a homeless guy," he called. His friends ran to him. "Does that count?"

"That's him," Tom said, smiling.

"You're friends with a homeless guy?" Joanne asked.

"Yeah. He saved me." Tom started walking toward the person with everyone else following. "PIERRE!" Pierre looked up and saw Tom coming toward him.

"Hello, Tom," he said. The others caught up with Tom. "I see you brought your friends."

"Yeah," Tom said. "This is-"

"Angel, April, Joanne, Mark, Maureen, Mimi, and Roger," Pierre interrupted.

"He knows our names?" Angel asked.

"In alphabetical order?" Joanne added.

"I take it you did not tell them much about me," Pierre said.

"No, not much," Tom said. "But I brought you somethin'." Tom gave Pierre the bag.

"Thank you," Pierre said. Before Tom could respond, there was a gunshot. Pierre quickly stood up and his eyes widened.

"What is it?" Tom asked him.

Pierre simply replied, "The Man."

**Ooh! The cliffies! Ooh! The cliffies are coming to get you unless you review! Ooh!**


	15. In Too Deep

**Okay! It's back! I took a poll and did a lot of thinking and this is the result of this story not being deleted. I hope it's liked. I'll be crossing my fingers. Shout outs to Black Raven 2539 for being my inspiration and to all the people who voted "No" on the poll! LOVE YOU!**

**I own nothing. The Almighty Larson owns it all.**

"You must go," Pierre told the eight friends. "All of you. It is not safe here. Quickly!" He kept his attention on The Man, who was approaching fast. The children didn't ask any questions. They ran further into the park and slowed to a walk once they felt they were a good distance away.

"Am I the only wondering who The Man is?" Maureen asked. Everyone except Tom expressed their confusion.

"He's another person in on the lady's murder," the twelve-year-old said.

"How do you know that?" Roger asked.

"Pierre told me."

"Tom, I don't think it's smart to trust someone you just met," Joanne stated. "Think about it. He could be in on the murder, too." The others agreed with her.

"But he saved me," Tom said.

"From what?" Mark inquired.

"Mr. Smee. I heard him talkin' on the phone about the lady while I was at the school. The police have her body now and he's mad about it. So, he came after me."

"What does that have to with you?" Angel questioned.

"My dad's on the case."

"Then we should tell your dad what we know!" Roger decided.

"Mr. Smee'll know it was us."

"There's not much he can do to us behind bars," Mimi pointed out. "I say we tell before we get in too deep." The eight friends had made it out of the park and were walking on the sidewalk. Angel took Tom's hand and the taller boy looked down at him. He immediately thought of the name Pierre had given him.

"Angel, do you know your mom's first name?" he asked. Angel looked up at him.

"Yes," he replied. "It's Amelia, why?" Tom dropped Angel's hand and stopped walking. The seven others followed suit. They stared at their friend as they waited for him to speak.

"Tom, what's wrong?" Mimi asked. Tom looked around at his friends before bringing his attention back to Angel. He took both of the boy's hands in his and looked into his eyes.

"Angel, I have something to tell you," he said. Angel took a small step forward and waited. Tom took a deep breath, feeling all eyes on him. "Your mom . . . I think she-"

The screeching tires of a windowless van that pulled up beside the friends interrupted Tom's sentence. He let go of one of Angel's hands as they all stared at the van in silence. The side door suddenly slid open and four men jumped out, causing the children to scream and begin running back into the park. As they ran, Tom felt Angel's hand yanked from his. He stopped running and turned to see a man carrying the small boy toward the van.

"Tom!" he cried. "Tom, help me!" Angel's voice caused the six others to stop running and turn around.

"Angel!" Tom shouted. He was suddenly picked up from behind and immediately began struggling. "Put me down! Guys, run!" His friends did as he said and ran as fast as they could. Roger and Mark hid behind a large tree to catch their breath. Mark took his glassed off and cleaned them.

"Are we the only ones who made it?" he asked, putting his glasses back on and looking around. Maureen, Joanne, April, and Mimi were nowhere to be found.

"I don't know," Roger replied. "I'll check." He slowly peeked around the trunk of the tree and was instantly grabbed by one of the men from the van. "Run, Mark, run!"

The eleven-year-old ran faster than he ever had out of the park and into the middle of the street. He screamed and covered his face as a cab sped toward him, stopping just in the nick of time.

"Hey, kid!" the driver yelled out the window. "What the hell is wrong with you? I almost hit you!" Taking his hands away from his face, Mark ran to the back of the cab, opened the door, and climbed inside. "And now you want a ride?"

"You gotta give me a ride!" Mark exclaimed, shutting the door. "There are some people back there and they're after me!"

"So, I'm taking you to a police station?"

"Yeah! No, wait!" Mark reached in his jacket pocket and took out a folded piece of paper. During lunch at school the previous day, he asked all of his new friends to write down their addresses in case he ever needed them. He unfolded it and gave it to the driver. "Take me to the third address. And drive as fast as you can!"

The driver studied the address, gave the paper back to the boy, and then took off. Mark felt a great deal of pressure on him. He had just witnessed his first friends at a new school be kidnapped and now he was responsible for seeing that they were rescued. The boy was quiet for the duration of the cab ride, unmoving until he saw his destination out the window. The second the cab stopped, Mark threw the door open and ran onto the porch of Tom's house. He banged on the door and rang the doorbell, ignoring the cab driver's angry shouts. The door flew open and Mark stared up at Ed in slight fear.

"Who are you and why are you pounding on my door?" he asked. Before Mark could say anything, the cab driver grabbed him by his arm.

"You owe me money, kid!" he shouted.

"But . . . I don't _have _any money," Mark stated.

"Then what the hell did you take a cab for?"

"I had to get away! I told you those guys were after me!"

"You _still _owe me twenty bucks."

"'_Twenty?' _Why twenty?"

"You ran without paying me."

"For the love of God," Ed said, taking his wallet out of his back pocket. He produced a twenty-dollar bill and gave it to the driver. "Satisfied?"

"Yeah." The driver glared at Mark. "Consider yourself banned from my cab, kid." Mark watched him walk back to his cab angrily.

"Now, back to my previous question," Ed said. "Who are you and why are you pounding on my door?"

"My name is Mark Cohen and I'm a friend of Tom's," Mark answered quickly. "On the first day of school, my new friends and I found a dead lady in the park and we didn't tell anybody about it and Tom said you're on the case and he found out that Mr. Smee has something to do with her murder and he came after him and then some guy named Pierre saved Tom and-"

"Whoa!" Ed interrupted. "Slow down!"

"There's no time! They took them and I don't know where to! We should've told someone about what we saw, but we didn't and now they're gone! You have to get some other cops to help them!"

"Okay, Mark, I need you to take some deep breaths." Mark did as Ed instructed. "Now, can you calmly and slowly tell me what you're trying to say?"

"The case about the dead lady in the park that you're working on."

"What about it?"

"My friends and I found her body after the first day of school, but we didn't tell anybody. Tom found out today that Mr. Smee has something to do with her murder and he came after him _because _he found him out. Then a homeless guy saved him and he told us we needed to meet back at the park, so we did. We met the homeless guy and he said that we had to leave because some guy called 'The Man' was coming. We were leaving the park when this van came out of nowhere and four guys got out of it and started chasing us. They grabbed Tom, Angel, Mimi, Roger, April, Maureen, and Joanne and put them in the van, but I got away and came to find help. And that's why I'm on your porch right now." Ed looked ready to cry. Mark had never seen an adult look so worried before, not even his mother.

"Do you . . . um . . . do you remember what any of the men look like?" he asked. He was fighting back tears.

"No, I was running. I'm sorry." Ed fell silent. It had always been a fear of his that his job would get his wife or children targeted by a criminal. "Mr. Collins?"

"Come inside, Mark. I, uh, I'm going to call the other children's parents and . . . I'm going to need you to . . . tell them what you told me." Mark didn't protest and walked into the house.

* * *

"I'm scared, Tom," Angel whispered, leaning on Tom inside the dark van. The older boy wrapped his arm around his boyfriend and kissed the top of his head. After the seven friends had been put in the van, the men who had grabbed them went separate ways. The children had been quiet since then, each of them wishing someone would come to their rescue. They could barely see each other.

"What's gonna happen to us?" Maureen asked. No one answered her. They were afraid to.

"Listen, you guys," Tom said. "I'm promise to protect all of you as well as I can, okay?"

"You can't protect us all, Tom," April told him. "I know you're the oldest, but I don't think that's possible."

"I think we should try to think happy thoughts," Joanne declared.

"What exactly is happy about being in a van with no idea where you're headed?" Roger snapped. Mimi smacked him in the back of the head. "Ow!"

"She's just trying to cheer us up, Roger," Mimi said. The van suddenly began slowing down. The friends instinctively moved closer together.

"Angel, whatever happens, don't let go of my hand, okay?" Tom said.

"Okay," Angel replied. He gripped Tom's hand tighter as the door was slid open.

Mr. Smee was standing outside of the van and smirked upon seeing the frightened middle schoolers.

**Review please.**


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